Elk City, OK — State Rep. Nick Archer says he is continuing efforts to bring federal investment back to Oklahoma, focusing on energy research and advanced computing as key opportunities for the region.

Speaking recently, Archer emphasized the need to redirect federal tax dollars toward projects that directly benefit Oklahoma communities.

“Working hard to try to get those federal funds,” Archer said. “At the federal level, our tax dollars go here, there and everywhere in between. We spend ungodly amounts of money on things that you would never know or think about.”

Archer said his goal is to shift some of that spending toward initiatives that align more closely with Oklahoma values and economic strengths, particularly in energy production and technology.

Rather than sending money overseas or into programs with little local impact, Archer is advocating for investment in research areas such as natural gas, advanced computing, and infrastructure tied to data centers.

A major part of that vision includes addressing concerns many rural residents have about data centers, particularly related to water usage and power demands.

“A lot of the people in our part of the world, they don’t like data centers. It’s not that they don’t like data centers, they have water concerns, they have power concerns,” Archer said. “The National Lab system is where those problems are solved.”

One potential solution being explored is the use of produced water from oil and gas operations to cool data centers, which Archer says could benefit both the energy and technology sectors.

“If we can take produced water from a wellbore and use that to cool a data center, that’s a win for everybody,” he said. “But until we’re studying that, until we’re trying to develop those programs, we’re not going to see those kinds of developments just really pop up on their own.”

Archer recently secured passage of a key measure in the Oklahoma House that would support this type of research. The proposal, which aligns with efforts to establish a natural gas research hub, is now under consideration in the Senate.

Meanwhile, most of Archer’s legislative agenda remains active. He reported that all but one of his bills successfully advanced to the Senate this session.

The exception, House Bill 3173, which would have addressed farm equipment depreciation schedules, fell short of the votes needed for passage.

“We ended up with about 46 votes, and it takes 51 to send it across the rotunda,” Archer said.

He noted that concerns raised by county assessors contributed to the bill’s failure, though he suggested some of the information circulating may not have been entirely accurate.

Despite that setback, Archer indicated there may still be opportunities to revisit the issue through Senate legislation later in the session.

For now, his focus remains on advancing energy research initiatives and securing federal resources that could position western Oklahoma as a leader in both traditional energy and emerging technologies.

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