On September 25, 2025, the Clinton Foundation, the city of Little Rock, and ENFRA—a sustainable energy company based in Louisiana—unveiled a partnership that promises to reshape downtown Little Rock’s energy landscape. Their joint venture, the Clinton Sustainable Energy District (CSED), was announced at the Clinton Global Initiative’s annual meeting in New York, drawing national attention to what officials are calling a groundbreaking approach to urban sustainability.
At its heart, the CSED will harness a new 5-megawatt solar array, providing cooling to a network of prominent downtown buildings. These include the Clinton Presidential Center, the former Heifer International campus, City Hall, the Robinson Center, and the Museum of Discovery in the Terminal Building. According to the Arkansas Business and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the project is expected to deliver more than $30 million in energy infrastructure upgrades at the Clinton Center and the remote solar array site, with the goal of reducing utility costs by a projected 40%.
The solar array itself will be constructed in Russellville, on land leased from Cherokee Nation Businesses. Notably, this land sits across from a site once slated for a casino—a project derailed by a November 2024 vote that revoked Pope County’s casino license. Now, instead of slot machines and roulette tables, the area will host solar panels designed to offset all carbon emissions from operations at the expanded Clinton Center campus, which now includes the former Heifer International property to the south.
But how does this new system work? The CSED will use a thermal energy network, a system of underground pipes connecting multiple buildings to central energy plants for efficient cooling. As Rebecca Tennille, spokesperson for the Clinton Foundation, explained in an email to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, “The energy district will be sustainable because we are adding renewable energy to the electric grid to fully offset the electricity consumption required to produce the chilled water.” Part of the project will involve installing a heat pump at the Clinton Center plant, further boosting efficiency.
Officials say the project’s benefits extend beyond just the flagship buildings. The district is designed to “offer additional downtown building owners and tenants the most energy and cost-efficient cooling solutions by leveraging the economies of scale inherent in such a thermal energy network,” the partners said in a joint news release. As the project progresses, a platform will be created for other downtown building owners to inquire about access to the district’s cooling services. ENFRA will develop a rate for this service based on the cost of serving each building, allowing owners to weigh the district’s offering against installing their own systems.
Bruce Lindsey, counselor to the chair of the Clinton Foundation’s board, believes the initiative will have ripple effects far beyond Little Rock. “The Clinton Sustainable Energy District is a win-win,” he said in the announcement. “It will significantly reduce the Clinton Center’s environmental impact and serve as a model for sustainable energy infrastructure across the nation. We are proud to partner with ENFRA and the City of Little Rock to make a lasting investment that will benefit Little Rock.”
Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr., who in 2022 set an ambitious goal for city operations to achieve 100% clean energy, hailed the partnership as a blueprint for the future. “This innovative and transformational partnership with the Clinton Foundation and ENFRA is a model for sustainability and energy efficiency, and it will result in significant cost savings for Little Rock residents. Through fiscal and environmental stewardship, we are prioritizing our community’s common values while leading the way to create a greener, cleaner and brighter future,” he said in a statement.
The CSED isn’t the city’s only clean energy initiative. In a parallel effort, Little Rock is building a 4.9-megawatt solar field at the Port of Little Rock, expected to provide about 70% of city operations’ energy needs. “The solar project is expected to get the City about 70% of the way to the goal. Reaching 100% requires us to be more efficient, and the Clinton Sustainable Energy District would help with that efficiency,” Aaron Sadler, Little Rock’s director of communications, told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. The city board adopted its first Sustainability Action plan in September 2025, setting milestones such as converting half of the city’s vehicle fleet to electric vehicles by 2030.
ENFRA, for its part, will handle the long-term operation and maintenance of the energy infrastructure—a key factor in the project’s sustainability. ENFRA CEO Rob Guthrie emphasized the broader significance of the endeavor: “This is about more than energy savings, it’s about climate action, economic empowerment, and honoring our responsibility to future generations,” he stated. “Through this solar array and other comprehensive energy infrastructure upgrades, we are creating a replicable model for sustainable energy districts across the country.”
The CSED will also include on-site power systems to ease grid strain during peak demand, as well as electric vehicle charging infrastructure and substantial energy retrofits and efficiency upgrades across the Clinton Center campus. According to project spokespersons, these improvements will help “monetize the value of their thermal energy production assets,” allowing the Clinton Foundation and the city to maximize both environmental and economic returns.
The project will be built in phases, with the initial scope at the Clinton Center already finalized and construction set to begin soon. As the system comes online, the Clinton Center and its neighboring properties will not only see lower utility bills and a smaller carbon footprint, but also gain resilience against future energy challenges—a concern that’s become all too familiar in recent years as cities across the U.S. grapple with extreme weather and grid instability.
For Little Rock, the CSED represents more than just an infrastructure upgrade. As the partners noted in their release, “More than just an infrastructure project, the CSED represents a bold stride toward a sustainable future, offering a cleaner alternative to traditional cooling, fostering economic revitalization in Little Rock, and serving as a national exemplar for sustainable innovation.”
With the Clinton Foundation’s LEED-certified buildings as a backdrop, and the city’s clean energy ambitions gaining momentum, Little Rock may soon find itself in the spotlight—not just for its presidential library, but as a model for cities nationwide looking to balance economic growth with environmental responsibility. As construction begins and the first electrons from Russellville’s solar panels flow into the grid, all eyes will be on Arkansas to see if this bold experiment in sustainable energy can deliver on its big promises.
