Bipartisan Backlash: Why Little Rock Is Fighting Two Massive Data Centres

Key points

• Proposed hyperscale data centres, warehouse-sized buildings packed with computer servers that run AI services, are facing organised opposition in cities across the United States.
• Critics in Little Rock, Arkansas, say the projects threaten Black-owned rural land and use excessive amounts of water and electricity.
• The backlash is bipartisan: far-left and far-right residents oppose the projects for different but overlapping reasons.
• Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr describes the unusual coalition as the "far left and the far right ran into each other and had a hug."

Data centres do not look like much from the outside. Big, low, windowless buildings sitting on a lot of land. But inside, thousands of specialised computer chips run constantly, crunching the calculations that make AI tools like ChatGPT work. They drink electricity and water by the bucketload, and right now, somebody wants to build two of them near Little Rock, Arkansas.

Locals are not happy.

What are people actually worried about?

The concerns fall into two broad camps: the environment and the land. Data centres demand enormous amounts of electricity to run and water to cool their servers. Critics fear that kind of industrial load will strain local infrastructure and drive up bills for ordinary residents.

The land argument cuts deeper. Opponents have described the projects as "real redlining," a reference to the historic practice of blocking Black communities from economic opportunity, this time by appropriating rural, Black-owned land for industrial use. That framing has landed hard in a city with a well-documented history of racial inequality.

As reported by The Guardian, the opposition crosses political lines in a way that almost never happens anymore. Mayor Frank Scott Jr put it plainly: "I would say it's kind of the far left and the far right ran into each other and had a hug. But they come at it from different perspectives."

Environmentalists worry about carbon footprints and water tables. Conservatives worry about outside corporations swallowing up local land. Both are saying no.

Is Little Rock an isolated case?

Not even close. The same fight is playing out in nearly every US city right now.

The AI boom has sent demand for data centres soaring. Every time someone uses an AI image generator, sends a message to a chatbot, or runs a voice assistant, a data centre somewhere does the heavy lifting. Building enough of them to keep up with demand means finding land fast, and rural areas with cheaper land and looser planning rules have become prime targets.

For residents in those areas, the deals can arrive quickly and feel like they were made without them in the room.

What happens next?

There is no single regulator that oversees data centre approvals across the US; planning decisions happen at state and local level. That means the outcome in Little Rock, and in dozens of similar fights, will depend on local politics and who turns up to council meetings.

If you live near a proposed data centre, your local planning authority is the first place to look for information. Public consultation periods are usually short, and comments submitted during them carry real legal weight.

Common questions

Why do data centres use so much water?

Servers generate intense heat and need constant cooling. Many large facilities pump water through cooling systems the way a car uses a radiator, and in a hot climate, that can mean millions of litres a year.

Does this affect my electricity bill?

Possibly. A large data centre plugging into a regional power grid can push up local demand, which can put upward pressure on prices, though the effect varies by area and utility provider.