Last Updated: May 19, 2022

Overview

Arkansas has a diverse geography with natural resources that range from abundant natural gas, rivers, and forests to the rare gems found in the Crater of the Diamonds State Park, home to the only active diamond mine in the United States.¹ The large diamond in the center of the Arkansas state flag represents the mine.² The Mississippi River flows along the state's eastern border, the northern edge of the Gulf Coastal Plain occupies southern Arkansas, and rugged highlands cover the state's north and west.³ The fertile Arkansas River Valley separates the Ouachita Mountains from the Ozark Plateau in western Arkansas. Most of the state's natural gas production is from the Arkoma Basin, which underlies the Arkansas River Valley. Coal resources are found in the valley near the state's western border, and coal resources also cover most of the eastern half of the state.^4,5,6,7 To the south, the lowlands of the Gulf Coastal Plain contain the state's crude oil-producing area.^8,9

Arkansas has considerable hydropower from rivers that flow generally east and south from the state's highland regions toward the Mississippi River.¹⁰ The Mississippi River Valley and the upper reaches of its delta occupy the eastern third of Arkansas.¹¹ That area, part of the Mississippi River Alluvial Plain, has rich soils that, along with the state's hot, humid summers and mild, slightly drier winters, provide excellent conditions for agriculture.^12,13 Agricultural wastes and the forests that cover about half of the state supply Arkansas with significant biomass resources.^14,15

Arkansas consumes about 30% more energy than it produces, and its per capita energy consumption usually ranks among the top one-third of the states.^16,17 The industrial sector, which includes agriculture, consumes the most energy of any end-use sector in Arkansas, accounting for almost two-fifths of the state total.¹⁸ Poultry, soybeans, and rice are the state's top three agricultural products in terms of cash farm receipts.^19,20 Several energy-intensive manufacturing industries also are major contributors to Arkansas' gross domestic product (GDP). They include: food, beverages, and tobacco; fabricated metal products; paper products; chemicals; plastics; and natural gas and crude oil extraction and mining.²¹ The transportation sector accounts for about one-fourth of the state's energy consumption, followed by the residential sector at one-fifth and the commercial sector at one-sixth.²²

Natural gas

Arkansas has about 1% of the nation's proved natural gas reserves, and in 2021 the state accounted for 1% of total U.S. marketed gas production.^23,24 Most of the state's natural gas production is in the Arkoma Basin in west-central Arkansas, although there are also gas wells in the southern part of the state. Most of the natural gas produced in southern Arkansas is associated with crude oil production that contains some heavier hydrocarbons.^25,26 The state's coal formations produce coalbed methane, and much of that methane production comes from the Lower Hartshorne coalbed located in west-central Arkansas along the border with Oklahoma.^27,28,29 However, Arkansas is not a major producer of coalbed methane, with the state's output accounting for 0.1% of total U.S. coalbed methane production.³⁰

Marketed natural gas production in Arkansas increased significantly beginning in 2008. Output more than doubled by 2012 because of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing in the Fayetteville Shale, which accounts for most of the state's natural gas production.^31,32,33 However, because of a decline in drilling activity driven, in part, by lower natural gas prices, natural gas production in Arkansas decreased every year since its 2012 peak. The state's natural gas output in 2021 was less than half what it was in 2012.^34,35

Arkansas produces more natural gas than it consumes.^36,37 More than a dozen natural gas pipelines, mostly from Louisiana, Oklahoma, Mississippi, and Texas, pass through Arkansas on the way to markets in the Midwest and Northeast.^38,39 Large volumes of natural gas flow into the state and even larger volumes move out, with supplies mostly going through Mississippi, Louisiana, and Missouri.⁴⁰ The state has two natural gas storage fields that together can hold nearly 22 billion cubic feet of gas, which is about 0.2% of U.S. total storage capacity.^41,42

The electric power sector consumes about two-fifths of the natural gas delivered to end-use consumers in Arkansas, as generation from natural gas-fired power plants in the state increased during the past decade.^43,44 The industrial sector, which includes agriculture, consumes about one-third of the state's natural gas. The sector typically increases natural gas use during the fall months to dry the harvested rice crop.⁴⁵ The commercial sector accounts for about one-sixth of the state's gas use, and the residential sector, where about 4 in 10 Arkansas households use natural gas as their primary source for home heating, consumes about one-tenth.^46,47

Petroleum

Arkansas' proved crude oil reserves are small, accounting for about 0.1% of the U.S. total, and the state produces about 0.1% of the nation's total crude oil output.^48,49 Arkansas once played a larger role in the U.S. oil sector, leading the nation's crude oil production in the mid-1920s with its large Smackover field in the southern part of the state.⁵⁰ Smackover remains the state's biggest crude oil producing-field.⁵¹ However, many oil wells in the state are now stripper wells that produce less than 10 barrels of crude oil per day.⁵² Arkansas' crude oil production continues to be concentrated along the state's southern border.⁵³

Arkansas has two oil refineries that have a combined processing capacity of almost 91,000 barrels of crude oil per calendar day, which equals less than 1% of U.S. total refining capacity. The larger refinery in El Dorado can process about 83,000 barrels of crude oil per calendar day into motor gasoline, diesel fuel, propane, solvents, and asphalt products. The refinery processes crude oil produced in Arkansas and from other states and countries. The smaller refinery in Smackover processes about 7,500 barrels per calendar day and produces lubricants and process oils that are marketed to the tire, electrical, asphalt, and roofing industries.^54,55,56,57

The transportation sector accounts for about four-fifths of the petroleum consumed in Arkansas, and the industrial sector uses about one-seventh. The commercial and residential sectors account for most of the state's remaining petroleum use.⁵⁸ Arkansas allows statewide use of conventional motor gasoline without ethanol, although almost all U.S. gasoline contains at least 10% ethanol.^59,60 Arkansas does not have any ethanol production plants, but the state does have three biodiesel manufacturing plants with a combined production capacity of 115 million gallons per year, the fifth-highest of any state and nearly 5% of U.S. total capacity. Arkansas consumes much less biodiesel, about 33 million gallons annually.^61,62,63

Electricity

In 2021, coal reclaimed the top spot as the leading fuel used to generate electricity in Arkansas and accounted for 35% of the state's total electricity net generation. Natural gas-fired generation exceeded the state's coal-fired generation in 2020 for the first time. However, higher natural gas prices made coal more competitive as a generating fuel. In 2021, natural gas accounted for 32% of the state's generation.⁶⁴

Natural gas fuels 5 of the 10 largest power plants by capacity in Arkansas, including the 2,000-megawatt Union Power Station, which is the biggest power plant in the state. Coal fuels 4 of Arkansas' 10 largest power plants. The second-largest power plant is the state's one nuclear power plant—with two reactors—that provided about 22% of in-state net generation in 2021. The 1,800-megawatt nuclear power plant is located on Lake Dardanelle about 60 miles northwest of Little Rock. Almost all the rest of the state's electricity net generation came from hydroelectric power and biomass-fueled generating facilities.^65,66,67,68

Arkansas ranks among the top 10 states in both total electricity sales per capita and residential electricity sales per capita. The residential sector accounts for the largest share of electricity use in Arkansas, with 39% of the state's total power sales. About half of the households in the state use electricity as their primary energy source for home heating, and nearly all the states with the highest residential electricity sales per capita, which includes Arkansas, are in the South where air conditioning use is most prevalent. Arkansas ranks among the 10 states with the lowest average residential electricity retail prices. The industrial sector closely follows the residential sector with 38% of the state's electricity consumption, and the commercial sector accounts for 24%.^{69,70,71,72,73}

Coal

Coal was Arkansas' most valuable mineral resource from its first commercial production in the mid-19th century, but its importance diminished with the discovery of oil in the state in the 1920s and the increased retirement of coal-fired power plants nationwide.^74,75 Arkansas has 227 million tons of recoverable coal reserves, which is about 0.1% of the U.S. total, but the state's last coal production occurred in 2017 at three small mines, all located in the Arkansas River Valley near the state's western border.^76,77 The electric power sector uses almost all the coal consumed in Arkansas and it arrives by rail primarily from New Mexico and Wyoming. Other industrial plants in the state also receive small amounts of coal by rail from Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah.^78,79

Renewable energy

Renewable energy sources provided 10% of the electricity generated in Arkansas in 2021. Conventional hydroelectric power accounted for nearly three-fourths of the state's renewable generation. The state has 19 utility-scale (1 megawatt or larger) conventional hydroelectric power generating facilities and one hydroelectric pumped storage plant.^80,81

Biomass supplied about one-sixth of Arkansas' in-state renewable electricity in 2021, almost all of it from wood and wood-derived fuels.⁸² Solid biomass residues, including crop residues and methane from livestock manure, are other potential resources for electricity generation in the state.^83,84 Arkansas' biomass resources also provide feedstock for the state's one wood pellet manufacturing plant, which has a production capacity of 744,000 tons per year.⁸⁵

Arkansas has a small but increasing amount of solar power, which accounted for one-tenth of the state's renewable electricity generation in 2021 and was 18 times greater than in 2016.^86,87 Arkansas' two largest solar farms each have 100 megawatts of generating capacity. The Chicot Solar Farm, which came online in September 2020 in the southeastern part of the state, has 350,000 solar panels spread over 825 acres. The Searcy Solar farm, located northeast of Little Rock, came online in January 2022. It is the first solar farm in the state with battery storage and can store 30 megawatts of solar-generated electricity.^88,89,90 Arkansas does not generate any electricity from utility-scale wind power facilities, although it has moderate wind energy resources in the Ozark Mountains in the northwest corner of the state.^91,92

Arkansas does not have a renewable portfolio standard that requires the state's electricity providers to generate a certain amount of electricity from renewable energy sources.⁹³ However, the state does have net metering, allowing households with small, customer-sited solar panels, wind turbines, or other renewable power generating installations no larger than 25 kilowatts in size to receive credits from utilities to send excess electricity to the grid. Businesses with renewable electric generating systems that are to up 300 kilowatts in capacity are also eligible for net metering.⁹⁴ In 2010, the Arkansas Public Service Commission (APSC) implemented an energy efficiency resource standard that required the state's investor-owned electric and natural gas utilities to undertake energy efficiency measures. In 2015 and again in 2018, the APSC set new targets for continued reductions in electricity and natural gas use.^95,96 The energy savings targets for program years 2020-22 call for a 1.2% reduction in utility sales of electricity from 2018 levels and a 0.5% reduction in utility sales of natural gas.⁹⁷ In January 2022, the state began two programs to expand Arkansas' electric vehicle charging infrastructure. One program provides rebates to government, private, and non-profit groups that install Level 2 fast-charging stations that can charge a vehicle in a few hours and the other program offers funding assistance for three DC fast charging stations that can charge electric vehicles in 30 minutes.⁹⁸

Endnotes

¹ Arkansas State Parks, Crater of Diamonds State Park, History of the Crater of the Diamonds State Park, accessed April 6, 2022.
² State Symbols USA, Flag of Arkansas, accessed April 6, 2022.
³ World Atlas, Arkansas, Arkansas Geography, accessed April 6, 2022.
⁴ Foti, Thomas, Arkansas Valley, The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture, updated April 4, 2022.
⁵ Arkansas Geological Survey, General Information Regarding Natural Gas in Arkansas, accessed April 6, 2022.
⁶ Arkansas Geological Survey, General Information Regarding Coal in Arkansas, accessed April 6, 2022.
⁷ U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), State Profile and Energy Estimates, Arkansas, Map, Layers/Legend: Fossil Resources, Coal Field, Tight Oil/Shale Gas Play, accessed April 6, 2022.
⁸ Arkansas Geological Survey, General Information Regarding Crude Oil in Arkansas, History of Discovery and Exploration, accessed April 6, 2022.
⁹ U.S. EIA, State Profile and Energy Estimates, Arkansas, Map, Layers/Legend: Oil Wells: High-Level View, accessed April 6, 2022.
¹⁰ Reynolds, Jerry, Hydroelectricity, The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture, updated March 15, 2016.
¹¹ Stroud, Hubert, Mississippi Alluvial Plain, The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture, updated January 1, 2022.
¹² Foti, Thomas, Geography and Geology, The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture, updated October 9, 2020.
¹³ Buckner, Ed, Climate and Weather, The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture, updated March 28, 2022.
¹⁴ Arkansas Forestry Commission, Arkansas Forest Health Highlights for 2020, p. 1.
¹⁵ National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Geospatial Data Science, Biomass Resource Data, Tools, and Maps, U.S. Biomass Resource Maps, accessed April 6, 2022.
¹⁶ U.S. EIA, State Energy Data System, Table P3, Total Primary Energy Production and Total Energy Consumption Estimates in Trillion Btu, 2019.
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¹⁹ U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2021 State Agricultural Overview, Arkansas.
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³⁴ Bree, Daniel, "Fayetteville Shale Assets Sold Off, Fracking Still Put On Hold," Arkansas Public Media (September 20, 2018).
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⁴¹ U.S. EIA, Underground Natural Gas Storage Capacity, Total Number of Existing Fields, 2015-20.
⁴² U.S. EIA, Underground Natural Gas Storage Capacity, Total Storage Capacity, 2015-20.
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⁴⁹ U.S. EIA, Crude Oil Production, Annual-Thousand Barrels per Day, 2016-21.
⁵⁰ Lambert, Don, Smackover (Union County), The Encyclopedia of Arkansas, updated December 22, 2020.
⁵¹ Arkansas Oil & Gas Commission, South Arkansas Field Data, Smackover, 2018.
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⁵³ U.S. EIA, Arkansas, Profile Overview, Map, Layers/Legend: Oil and Gas Wells, accessed April 7, 2022.
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⁶³ U.S. EIA, State Energy Data System, Table F26, Biodiesel Consumption Estimates, 2020.
⁶⁴ U.S. EIA, Electricity Data Browser, Net generation for all sectors, thousand megawatthours, Arkansas, Annual 2018-21.
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⁶⁶ U.S. EIA, Nuclear Reactor, State, and Net Capacity (September 2021).
⁶⁷ U.S. EIA, Electricity Data Browser, Net generation for all sectors, thousand megawatthours, Arkansas, Annual 2018-21.
⁶⁸ Encyclopedia of Arkansas, Arkansas Nuclear One, updated December 8, 2020.
⁶⁹ U.S. EIA, Electricity Data Browser, Retail sales of electricity (million kilowatthours), Arkansas, 2018-21.
⁷⁰ U.S. Census Bureau, House Heating Fuel, Table B25040, 2019 ACS 1-Year Estimates Detailed Tables, Arkansas.
⁷¹ U.S. EIA, Table C17, Electricity Retail Sales, Total and Residential, Total and per Capita, Ranked by State, 2019.
⁷² U.S. Census Bureau, Census Regions and Divisions of the United States, accessed April 8, 2022.
⁷³ U.S. EIA, Electric Power Monthly (February 2022), Table 5.6.B.
⁷⁴ Arkansas Geological Survey, General Information Regarding Coal in Arkansas, accessed April 10, 2022.
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⁷⁶ U.S. EIA, Annual Coal Report 2020 (October 4, 2021), Table 1, Coal Production and Number of Mines by State and Mine Type, 2020 and 2019, Table 15, Recoverable Coal Reserves at Producing Mines, Estimated Recoverable Reserves, and Demonstrated Reserve Base by Mining Method, 2020.
⁷⁷ U.S. EIA, Annual Coal Report 2018, Table 1, Coal Production and Number of Mines by State and Mine Type, 2018 and 2017.
⁷⁸ U.S. EIA, Annual Coal Report 2020 (October 4, 2021), Table 26, U.S. Coal Consumption by End Use Sector, Census Division, and State, 2020 and 2019.
⁷⁹ U.S. EIA, Annual Coal Distribution Report 2020 (October 4, 2021), Domestic distribution of U.S. coal by destination state, Arkansas, Table DS-4, Domestic Coal Distribution, by Destination State, 2020.
⁸⁰ U.S. EIA, Electricity Data Browser, Net generation for all sectors, thousand megawatthours, Arkansas, Annual 2018-21.
⁸¹ U.S. EIA, Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory (based on Form EIA-860M as a supplement to Form EIA-860), Inventory of Operating Generators as of February 2021, Plant State: Arkansas, Technology: Conventional Hydroelectric and Hydroelectric Pumped Storage.
⁸² U.S. EIA, Electricity Data Browser, Net generation for all sectors, thousand megawatthours, Arkansas, Annual 2018-21.
⁸³ University of Arkansas, Division of Agriculture, Research & Extension, Bioenergy Crops, accessed April 8, 2022.
⁸⁴ U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2021 State Agricultural Overview, Arkansas, accessed April 8, 2022.
⁸⁵ U.S. EIA, Monthly Densified Biomass Fuel Report (April 20, 2021), Table 1, Densified biomass fuel manufacturing facilities in the United States by state, region, and capacity, January 2022, Download.
⁸⁶ Solar Energy Industries Association, State Solar Policy, Arkansas Solar, accessed April 9, 2022.
⁸⁷ U.S. EIA, Electricity Data Browser, Net generation for all sectors, thousand megawatthours, Arkansas, Annual, 2018-21.
⁸⁸ U.S. EIA, Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory (based on Form EIA-860M as a supplement to Form EIA-860), Inventory of Planned Generators as of February 2022, Plant State: Arkansas, Technology: Solar Photovoltaic.
⁸⁹ Kovaleski, Dave, "NextEra Energy to build largest solar facility in Arkansas," Daily Energy Insider (December 4, 2019).
⁹⁰ Entergy, "Entergy Arkansas Searcy Solar Energy Center Now Online," Press release (January 27, 2022).
⁹¹ U.S. EIA, Electricity Data Browser, Net generation for all sectors, thousand megawatthours, Arkansas, Annual 2018-21.
⁹² U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, WindExchange, Wind Energy in Arkansas, Maps & Data, accessed April 9, 2022.
⁹³ National Conference of State Legislatures, State Renewable Portfolio Standards and Goals, updated August 13, 2021.
⁹⁴ North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center, DSIRE, Net Metering, updated November 30, 2018.
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⁹⁶ North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center, DSIRE, Arkansas Energy Efficiency Targets, updated August 18, 2016.
⁹⁷ American Council for Energy-Efficient Economy, State and Local Policy Database, Energy Efficiency Resource Standards, Arkansas, updated July 2018.
⁹⁸ Arkansas Energy & Environment, "E&E to Launch Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Funding Assistance Programs," Press release (January 24, 2022).