Pulaski County

Moratoriums and bans

1. May 26, 2026 Pulaski County: Moratorium (failed). An emergency ordinance for a one-year pause on new data centers, amended to exempt AVAIO Digital's planned campus near Wrightsville, was first announced as passed. A review found it got 8 yes votes, 6 no and 1 present, short of the 10 votes (two-thirds) an emergency ordinance needs. The county attorney had questioned whether a pause fit within the 2023 state law. (Arkansas Advocate, May 27, 2026; Arkansas Advocate, May 28, 2026)
2. July 28, 2026 Pulaski County: Moratorium (rejected). The Quorum Court voted down a second one-year moratorium on certain large data center projects, along with an amendment that would have made exempted projects meet future rules, so the county had no pause in effect. (KATV, July 28, 2026)
3. Sept. 25, 2026 Pulaski County: Zoning ordinance (passed, vetoed). On Sept. 22, 2026 the Quorum Court passed, 11-4, its first data center ordinance. It treats large data centers as heavy industrial uses that need a conditional use permit and requires studies of power, water and land use, a decommissioning plan with financial assurance, noise limits and a 500-foot setback from homes. It made no exception for AVAIO. County Judge Barry Hyde vetoed it on Sept. 25, saying he did not believe it could be administered in its current form. Overriding the veto takes 9 of 15 votes; the sponsor said she would seek one, and no override vote was found as of Oct. 26, 2026. (KATV, Sept. 24, 2026; Arkansas Advocate, Sept. 28, 2026)
4. June 2, 2026 City of Little Rock: Zoning ordinance. The Board of Directors unanimously approved the mayor's changes to the industrial zoning code for data centers, adding noise, landscaping and utility requirements and barring the use of groundwater or drinking water for cooling. Residents had asked for a moratorium, but the board went ahead with the rules instead. (Arkansas Advocate, June 3, 2026; Little Rock Public Radio (KUAR), June 3, 2026)
5. Oct. 20, 2026 City of Little Rock: Moratorium (rejected). The board rejected an 18-month pause on hyperscale data centers proposed by Director Kathy Webb on Aug. 4, 2026. On Oct. 20 a six-month version failed on a 4-4 vote with one recusal. (KATV, Aug. 4, 2026; KATV, Oct. 20, 2026)

Updates, newest first

1. Oct. 20, 2026 City of Little Rock: Moratorium (rejected) · The board rejected an 18-month pause on hyperscale data centers proposed by Director Kathy Webb on Aug. 4, 2026. On Oct. 20 a six-month version failed on a 4-4 vote with one recusal. (KATV, Aug. 4, 2026; KATV, Oct. 20, 2026)
2. Sept. 25, 2026 Pulaski County: Zoning ordinance (passed, vetoed) · On Sept. 22, 2026 the Quorum Court passed, 11-4, its first data center ordinance. It treats large data centers as heavy industrial uses that need a conditional use permit and requires studies of power, water and land use, a decommissioning plan with financial assurance, noise limits and a 500-foot setback from homes. It made no exception for AVAIO. County Judge Barry Hyde vetoed it on Sept. 25, saying he did not believe it could be administered in its current form. Overriding the veto takes 9 of 15 votes; the sponsor said she would seek one, and no override vote was found as of Oct. 26, 2026. (KATV, Sept. 24, 2026; Arkansas Advocate, Sept. 28, 2026)
3. Sept. 3, 2026 TierPoint Little Rock data center · TierPoint's site lists the facility with 30,000-plus sq ft and redundant 2.25 MW generators. (TierPoint, Sept. 3, 2026; TierPoint, 2020)
4. Aug. 4, 2026 Little Rock Port data center (Google, per reporting) · The Board of Directors rejected an 18-month moratorium on hyperscale data centers that would have paused the project's permitting. (KATV, Aug. 4, 2026; KATV, Aug. 4, 2026)
5. July 28, 2026 AVAIO Digital Leo campus · The Quorum Court again rejected a 12-month moratorium, leaving the project free to keep moving through planning. (KATV, July 28, 2026)
6. July 28, 2026 Pulaski County: Moratorium (rejected) · The Quorum Court voted down a second one-year moratorium on certain large data center projects, along with an amendment that would have made exempted projects meet future rules, so the county had no pause in effect. (KATV, July 28, 2026)
7. June 2, 2026 City of Little Rock: Zoning ordinance · The Board of Directors unanimously approved the mayor's changes to the industrial zoning code for data centers, adding noise, landscaping and utility requirements and barring the use of groundwater or drinking water for cooling. Residents had asked for a moratorium, but the board went ahead with the rules instead. (Arkansas Advocate, June 3, 2026; Little Rock Public Radio (KUAR), June 3, 2026)
8. May 26, 2026 AVAIO Digital Leo campus · A Pulaski County Quorum Court emergency moratorium that carried an AVAIO exemption fell short of the needed two-thirds, 8-6 with one present, after a review of the recorded tally. (Arkansas Advocate, May 28, 2026)
9. May 26, 2026 Pulaski County: Moratorium (failed) · An emergency ordinance for a one-year pause on new data centers, amended to exempt AVAIO Digital's planned campus near Wrightsville, was first announced as passed. A review found it got 8 yes votes, 6 no and 1 present, short of the 10 votes (two-thirds) an emergency ordinance needs. The county attorney had questioned whether a pause fit within the 2023 state law. (Arkansas Advocate, May 27, 2026; Arkansas Advocate, May 28, 2026)
10. Jan. 14, 2026 Little Rock Port data center (Google, per reporting) · Arkansas Business reported, citing a source close to the project, that Google is the company behind it. (Arkansas Business, Jan. 14, 2026)
11. Jan. 12, 2026 AVAIO Digital Leo campus · The state and AVAIO announced the Leo campus, which the governor called the largest investment in Arkansas history, with 500-plus permanent jobs planned over five years. (KATV, Jan. 12, 2026; Talk Business & Politics (via KUAR Little Rock Public Radio), Jan. 12, 2026; Arkansas Business, Jan. 12, 2026)
12. April 29, 2025 Little Rock Port data center (Google, per reporting) · The Little Rock Port Authority approved the land sale, and the city Board of Directors authorized the deed and an MOU with Willowbend Capital for a port development project. (City of Little Rock Board of Directors, April 29, 2025; Talk Business & Politics, April 29, 2025)

Statewide

Act 851 of 2023, the Arkansas Data Centers Act of 2023, took effect Aug. 1, 2023. It kept local governments from holding crypto mining facilities to different rules than other data centers, from rezoning land to single them out and from capping their noise; county officials said this left them without tools against noisy mines. (Association of Arkansas Counties, 2024; Arkansas Advocate, May 1, 2024) Acts 173 and 174 of 2024 (SB78 and SB79, fiscal session), signed May 9, 2024 with emergency clauses, amended the 2023 act: Act 173 restored local power to regulate crypto mine noise and zoning, set noise-reduction requirements and barred ownership by prohibited foreign parties; Act 174 created a state permit system for digital asset mining businesses run by the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission and also barred prohibited foreign ownership. (Plural Policy (Open States), May 9, 2024; Plural Policy (Open States), May 9, 2024; Association of Arkansas Counties, 2024; Arkansas Advocate, May 1, 2024) Act 819 of 2023 (HB1654) created a state sales and use tax exemption for qualified data centers covering equipment, eligible construction and related costs, services and electricity, for facilities investing at least $500 million within five years and paying at least $1 million a year in in-state compensation, with Arkansas Economic Development Commission approval; the state finance department lists it as effective Oct. 1, 2023. (Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration, 2023; Sales Tax Institute, April 25, 2023; Ryan LLC, April 19, 2023) Act 548 of 2025, signed April 10, 2025, widened the data center exemption at Ark. Code § 26-52-456: it lowered the investment floor to $100 million, added a 'qualified large data center' tier for linked multi-site campuses ($2 billion investment, $3 million in compensation), excluded facilities mainly used for crypto mining, required a positive AEDC cost-benefit finding and shifted administration to the Department of Finance and Administration; a law firm summary expected it to apply from Oct. 1, 2025. (Kutak Rock LLP, April 28, 2025; Sales Tax Institute, Oct. 8, 2025; Arkansas Senate, May 27, 2025) Act 373 of 2025 (SB307), the Generating Arkansas Jobs Act of 2025, enacted in March 2025 with an emergency clause, lets electric utilities start recovering the cost of new generation while it is being built, through a rider reviewed by the Public Service Commission; backers pointed to data centers and other power-hungry industries, though the bill's sponsor said its goals went beyond data centers. (LegiScan, March 20, 2025; Arkansas Advocate, March 17, 2025; Arkansas Senate, May 27, 2025) Under Act 373, the Public Service Commission approved Entergy Arkansas's strategic investment rider with revisions in October 2025 (Docket 25-049-TF); it took effect Dec. 2, 2025 as Rate Schedule No. 73, Generating Arkansas Jobs Act Rider, and requires Entergy to report the Arkansas jobs tied to each strategic investment. (Entergy Arkansas, Dec. 2, 2025; Entergy Corporation (SEC Form 10-Q, period ended Sept. 30, 2025), Nov. 2025) No general large-load or data center tariff for Entergy Arkansas or SWEPCO was found. Data center power has been handled contract by contract: in September 2025 Entergy Arkansas asked the PSC to approve a long-term special rate contract with Altitude LLC, an Alphabet subsidiary, for the West Memphis campus, and PSC staff testified in October 2025 that it was in the public interest. (Entergy Corporation (SEC Form 10-Q, period ended Sept. 30, 2025), Nov. 2025; Talk Business & Politics, Sept. 7, 2025) Proposed, August 2026: Sen. Fred Love offered the Arkansas Legislative Council a non-binding interim resolution urging a statewide data center moratorium, and it was referred to the House and Senate Insurance and Commerce committees. (Arkansas Advocate, Aug. 24, 2026) Arkansas data centers →