Residents in Conway, Arkansas, voiced their concerns about a massive proposed data center development.

The proposed data center campus, involving an unnamed “Fortune 100 company,” would require an estimated $1 billion investment to develop a roughly 300,000-square-foot facility.

Many details about the project remain unknown, and residents are demanding more transparency from local officials.

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Residents have raised concerns about a lack of information on tax incentives connected to the project, along with questions about the facility’s water and power usage.

“AI data centers have been proven to have a massive drain on local resources and a huge impact on environments and communities,” Kris Mallory, organizer of the protest, said. “Another part of the reason that we’re doing this is to demand transparency from the council who passed this without the consent of citizens.”

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Protesters said demonstrations will be held every other Saturday morning until they feel their voices are being heard.

“Here we go again. The people of Conway, Arkansas being told to sit down, shut up, and stop asking questions about the new data center coming to town. The developer is Forge Light Ventures acting on behalf of a SECRET Fortune 100 company. They don’t even know who the heck it is,” former West Virginia State Delegate Derrick Evans wrote.

Little Rock Public Radio explained further:

The project is championed by Forgelight Ventures LLC, a shell company with no in-state presence. Its tax filings list a Delaware address.

During the meeting, several residents worried their electricity bills could go up because of the data center, or that the technology could drain precious water resources. Many said the project was just moving too quickly without locals being able to voice their concerns.

Conway Mayor Bart Castleberry tried to quell residents’ fears when he opened the meeting.

“We recognize that many of the concerns are important and sincerely held,” he said. Later, he added: “It is important to understand that any potential data center development in Conway will not happen quickly.”

Castleberry insisted the project is “speculative” and will follow the same bureaucratic process as any other economic development project Conway has seen.

Among the residents speaking in opposition was Jeremy Rice. He lives on the same road as the proposed data center, and described himself as the “closest resident.”

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“I still do not have real answers,” he said, referencing previous appearances at city meetings. “I’ve emailed each of you directly and those responses are very vague and generic.”

He listed these questions in an email to Little Rock Public Radio including missing details about the company’s charitable contributions, lack of an economic or environmental study and buildings whose purpose was insufficiently documented.

“The response many of us are receiving, and are still receiving is ‘this is the best neighbor you are going to get. You should be happy this is a Fortune 100 company.’”

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