Arkansas Advanced Energy Position on Data Centers
The Arkansas Advanced Energy Association (AAEA) and Arkansas Advanced Energy Foundation (AAEF) recognize that data centers are becoming an increasingly important part of the modern economy and energy landscape. From healthcare to manufacturing, agriculture, logistics, and national security, data centers help power the technologies and systems that support everyday life and economic growth.
Arkansas is well-positioned to benefit from this growing industry. Data centers can bring significant private investment, expand tax base, create construction and long-term technical jobs, strengthen digital infrastructure, and support broader economic development opportunities, particularly in rural communities. As organizations committed to advancing an affordable, secure, and clean energy future for all Arkansans, AAE supports responsible economic development that strengthens the Natural State while protecting the interests of ratepayers, communities, landowners, and businesses.
As data center growth supports an expanding information economy, how this growth occurs will matter. The rapid growth of data centers will place increasing demands on Arkansas’s energy, water, land, and transmission infrastructure. Clear and transparent policies and appropriate regulatory frameworks related to energy procurement, water use, land siting, infrastructure planning, community engagement, and cost recovery will determine whether data center growth strengthens local economies and infrastructure or shifts unnecessary risks and costs onto Arkansas residents and businesses. These policies should establish clear, measurable outcomes and accountability for the impacts of data center development.
AAE believes Arkansas should pursue a balanced, market-driven approach that welcomes data center investment that is responsible and accountable. This includes:
Supporting transparent and forward-looking utility planning processes;
Encouraging diverse and responsible energy sourcing strategies, including clean and advanced energy technologies and grid modernization;
Protecting affordability and reliability for existing residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, and municipal customers;
Promoting investment in transmission and infrastructure needed to support long-term growth;
Respecting property rights and local community input;
Encouraging responsible and transparent energy, water, and land use practices, including appropriate disclosure of resource demands and measurable impacts;
Supporting workforce development efforts that prepare Arkansans for emerging technology and energy careers; and
Ensuring that economic benefits are broadly shared across Arkansas communities.
AAEA serves as the business voice for advanced energy in Arkansas and supports innovations that make the state’s energy supply more secure, clean, affordable, reliable, and resilient. AAEF complements this work through research, public education, economic development, and workforce initiatives that help inform Arkansas’s energy future with fact-based information and constructive stakeholder engagement.
As Arkansas experiences increasing interest from large energy users and data-driven industries, AAEA and AAEF support collaborative solutions that promote economic growth, infrastructure investment, transparency, accountability, and responsible energy development. Arkansas has a generational opportunity to position itself as a leader in both advanced energy and next-generation economic development, and thoughtful planning today will help ensure those benefits are realized for all Arkansans for decades to come.
