Advocating for data center and AI infrastructure investment that creates jobs, grows tax revenue, and strengthens communities across Arkansas.
Our advocacy is grounded in measurable, real benefits for Arkansas communities — not abstract promises.
High capital investment and significant tax revenue generating long-term returns for Arkansas communities and local governments for decades.
Construction-phase employment plus permanent, well-paying technical roles within the digital infrastructure sector — careers that stay in Arkansas.
New infrastructure and private capital investment targeting underserved communities across Arkansas, closing the opportunity gap region by region.
Domestic data infrastructure supporting U.S. security interests and data sovereignty — keeping critical digital assets on American soil.
Grid modernization funded by private capital, reducing the burden on taxpayers while strengthening Arkansas's energy infrastructure for all users.
Keeping Arkansas competitive nationally for digital investment — ensuring the state captures opportunity rather than ceding it to neighboring states.
"Arkansas is positioned to be a national leader in digital infrastructure — if we act with urgency and unity."
ARCC serves as the organized force ensuring Arkansas remains competitive for data center and AI investment — educating stakeholders, advocating for smart policy, and connecting the businesses and communities that make digital growth possible.
We believe data centers and AI aren't abstract technology. They are economic engines, grid investments, and community assets that benefit every Arkansan when deployed responsibly.
Whether you're a utility, developer, contractor, or community organization — ARCC has a place for you. Join the coalition driving smart digital policy.
ARCC is built by the businesses and organizations committed to making Arkansas a premier destination for digital infrastructure investment.
From utilities and data center developers to construction firms and community organizations, ARCC brings together every sector. Four membership tiers ensure every organization can participate at a level that fits their role and contribution.
Contact our team to learn which tier is right for your organization and how to get involved as a founding member of ARCC.
Request a Membership PacketA 501(c)(6) trade association founded to ensure Arkansas captures the generational opportunity of digital infrastructure investment.
ARCC was founded to fill a critical gap: Arkansas lacked a coordinated, credible voice advocating for smart data center and AI policy at the state and local level.
As digital infrastructure investment accelerates nationally, states with organized advocacy and educated policymakers are capturing billions in capital — and the jobs, tax revenue, and grid improvements that come with it. ARCC exists to ensure Arkansas is one of those states.
We operate as a 501(c)(6) trade association under Arkansas law, positioning us to educate, advocate, and organize on behalf of our members with full legal standing before the legislature and regulatory agencies.
We lead with facts, economic data, and community impact. Our goal is to inform decisions — not manufacture them. Every claim we make is backed by evidence Arkansans can verify.
We measure success by what happens in Arkansas communities — jobs created, taxes paid, infrastructure improved, and families that benefit from reliable, modern digital services.
Digital infrastructure touches utilities, construction, local government, and communities. We build bridges, not silos — bringing every stakeholder to the same table.
We support development that works with communities — transparent siting processes, equitable investment in rural areas, and honest conversation about energy use and grid impact.
The ARCC Board of Directors is composed of member representatives plus two gubernatorial seats — the Arkansas Secretary of Commerce and Secretary of Energy and Environment — ensuring direct alignment with state priorities.
Every Tier 1 member holds a permanent voting seat on the ARCC Board of Directors, reflecting their foundational role in the association's mission and funding.
Three rotating Board seats are held by Tier 2 developer members on a two-year cycle, ensuring fresh perspectives from the development community.
Two Board seats are reserved for the Governor's appointees — the Secretary of Commerce and Secretary of Energy and Environment — linking ARCC directly to state priorities.
The Executive Director serves as ARCC's chief executive with broad authority over operations, communications, advocacy, and stakeholder relationships, moving with the speed advocacy requires.
Answers to common questions about ARCC, data centers, and AI infrastructure in Arkansas.
ARCC — the Arkansas Connected Communities Association — is a 501(c)(6) trade association formed to serve as the organized, credible voice for pro-data center and pro-AI policy in Arkansas. It was created because Arkansas lacked a coordinated advocacy and education structure to remain competitive for digital infrastructure investment as other states aggressively court this capital.
Data centers generate significant economic benefits: high-paying construction jobs during development, permanent technical and operations roles, substantial property tax revenue for local governments and schools, and private investment in grid infrastructure that benefits all ratepayers. They represent some of the highest capital investments of any commercial facility type — often hundreds of millions or billions of dollars per facility.
Rural communities often benefit disproportionately from data center investment because they offer the land availability, power capacity potential, and regulatory environments that attract development. A single large data center can transform a rural county's tax base, fund school improvements, and trigger additional commercial development. ARCC specifically focuses on Pulaski, Johnson, and Crittenden counties, among others, to ensure Arkansas's rural communities share in the digital economy's growth.
Data centers are significant energy users, which means their development drives major private investment in grid infrastructure — substations, transmission lines, and generation capacity — that is funded by the data center operator, not taxpayers or ratepayers. This modernization benefits the entire grid. ARCC works closely with utilities to ensure data center growth is planned responsibly and grid upgrades serve broader community needs.
ARCC supports the responsible development and deployment of artificial intelligence, and specifically the infrastructure — data centers, high-speed networks, and power systems — that makes AI possible. We believe Arkansas can and should be a location where AI-related infrastructure is built, creating jobs and economic activity while supporting U.S. data sovereignty. We advocate for policy frameworks that enable AI development while addressing legitimate community concerns.
You can reach ARCC at info@arcca.com or visit ARCCA.com. For membership inquiries, contact our Executive Director directly. We welcome conversations with any organization interested in Arkansas's digital future.
Understanding the real, measurable impact of digital infrastructure investment on Arkansas's economy, grid, and communities.
A data center is more than a building full of servers. It is a long-term economic partner — paying property taxes for decades, employing local workers, funding grid upgrades, and putting Arkansas communities on the national map for digital investment.
When other states make it easy to build digital infrastructure, capital flows there. When Arkansas makes it hard, that capital — and all the jobs, tax revenue, and grid improvements that come with it — goes to Texas, Georgia, or Virginia instead.
Join the CoalitionData centers represent enormous taxable assets, generating property tax revenue that funds schools, roads, and public services for decades — with minimal demand on local services.
Building a data center requires thousands of skilled workers — electricians, concrete specialists, HVAC technicians — employed from the local Arkansas workforce.
Once operational, data centers employ well-paid technical staff for operations, security, engineering, and management — careers that anchor families in Arkansas.
Data centers fund the grid infrastructure they require — substations, transmission, and sometimes new generation — modernizing Arkansas's energy network at private expense.
Data center investment often catalyzes improved fiber and broadband infrastructure that benefits surrounding communities, businesses, and schools.
A data center signals a community is open for business — attracting supporting businesses, accelerating commercial development, and drawing additional technology investment.
ARCC focuses its advocacy on the regions best positioned to attract and benefit from data center development.
Home to Little Rock and the state's largest concentration of commercial and government activity, Pulaski County offers the workforce, connectivity, and infrastructure data center developers require.
With available land, energy access, and a growing industrial base, Johnson County represents a compelling opportunity for large-scale data center development in central Arkansas.
Strategically positioned in the Mid-South and connected to major logistics networks, West Memphis and Crittenden County offer unique advantages for data center siting and investment.
ARCC's position on artificial intelligence — responsible, Arkansas-first, and grounded in economic reality.
Artificial intelligence is reshaping the global economy, national security landscape, and the daily lives of Americans. The infrastructure that powers AI — data centers, high-speed networks, reliable power — must be built somewhere. ARCC's position is straightforward: it should be built in Arkansas.
We advocate for policy frameworks that enable responsible AI infrastructure development, attract private investment, protect community interests, and position Arkansas as a national leader — not a reluctant follower — in the digital economy.
Arkansas should create a regulatory and policy environment that makes data center and AI infrastructure development straightforward, predictable, and competitive with neighboring states. Permitting should be clear and timely.
AI infrastructure development should be conducted transparently and with genuine community engagement. Siting decisions should account for community input, and economic benefits should flow visibly to host communities.
Arkansas policy should ensure energy planning accounts for data center growth, that grid investments are funded appropriately, and that energy reliability for all Arkansans is maintained and improved.
U.S. AI leadership depends on having domestic infrastructure that keeps critical data and computing capacity on American soil. Arkansas-based data centers contribute directly to national security, and state policy should recognize this.
Arkansas should invest in the workforce pipeline AI infrastructure requires — technical training, community college partnerships, and apprenticeship pathways that prepare Arkansans for the jobs data centers create and sustain.
AI policy decisions should be based on accurate information, not fear or misunderstanding. ARCC commits to providing policymakers, media, and the public with factual, evidence-based information about AI infrastructure.
The states capturing AI infrastructure investment today are doing so because they made deliberate choices to be welcoming, competitive, and organized. ARCC exists to make sure Arkansas makes those choices — and reaps the rewards for generations.
Talk to ARCC About AI Policy