Best known for the red sandstone rocks that have provided the backdrop for everything from early 20th century Western movies to spiritual retreats to hiking and biking trails, Sedona, Ariz., is working to make a mark in building a notable electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

“Like many cities, Sedona has committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% no later than 2030,” said Bryce Beck, Sedona’s sustainability manager. The city’s goal is to convert all city-owned passenger vehicles to zero emission vehicles. That means having adequate chargers around the city to keep its fleet running.

The question, he said, was how to make that happen. Beck stepped into his position shortly after the city’s 2021 commitment to build its EV infrastructure. While the city had some chargers, he said there weren’t enough to support the 2030 goal.

Part of the answer to that question was Sedona’s participation in peer learning cohorts through the U.S. Department of Energy’s Clean Energy to Community program. By subscribing to newsletters through DOE and Arizona State University, Beck said he learned about the C2C program and was accepted into his first cohort, which focused on how to tailor an EV infrastructure.

Among the topics covered by the cohort was learning about available funding opportunities as well as strategies to “align city codes more effectively to meet electrification and climate action goals,” Beck said.

Sedona was one of 15 organizations in the cohort that met regularly from July to December 2023. Cohorts are funded by the DOE and managed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory supported by the World Resources Institute. Participants include local and regional governments, Tribes, electric utilities and community-based organizations. Beck said this cohort included representatives from Columbus, Ohio; Orange County, Fla.; Reno, Nev.; Milwaukee, Wis.; and Oak Park, Ill.; among others.

Beck said cohort members learn from each other as well as from national laboratory experts. Sessions start with a main presentation and then continue with breakout groups that discuss what they’ve heard. “Once we get some basic understanding of the topic, in between sessions, we are given activities that can help our communities.”

Two more C2C cohorts followed with a fleet electrification series through the Valley of the Sun Clean Cities program. That cohort led Sedona to sponsor a Drive Electric Ride and Drive event in December 2024. “Without the cohort, we wouldn’t have known how to initiate that kind of event,” Beck added.

The Ride and Drive event was a two-day program that gave community members a chance to learn about electric vehicles and test drive them on the first day. The next day was aimed at municipalities and the questions of converting a fleet as well as building the charging infrastructure to support it. The event gave not just Sedona, but other participants, the opportunity to “brainstorm and get more tangible about how to achieve our goals,” Beck said.

The third cohort program has focused on home energy, Beck added.

The cohort program also gives one-on-one technical assistance to help with deeper discussions of potential update to Sedona’s municipal codes and has given guidance for ways to implement the city’s current EV building code requiring that there be 5% EV-capable parking spaces at new commercial developments.

Beck said the NREL helped the city examine its safety needs for EV infrastructure as well as assisting in planning for code flexibility that allows new buildings to have slower or faster charging stations based on the type of property and the needs of those using it. For example, he said, residential properties may not need a quick charge station since the parking time is likely to be longer than it would be at a restaurant or grocery store.

He also said the city is looking at three types of drivers in Sedona, a city of about 10,000 residents. Helping local residents to know the advantages of owning electric vehicles may mean providing incentives for such purchases.

The second is visitors, since Sedona experiences about 3 million tourists every year. “We need to understand how to make them aware of what we have to offer in the way of charging for their EVs and encourage them to use merchants and businesses that have charging stations.”

Finally, Beck said the third facet includes municipal workers and city vehicles.

He said he is encouraged by the number of Sedona businesses that have taken on responsibility to let EV owners where there are charging stations for both quick and longer recharges.

“We’re building momentum to show people it’s not an abstract thing that only Chicago or Phoenix are doing. A small town like Sedona is getting EV infrastructure. They have EVs, and it’s available.”

Sedona continues to talk with partners from the cohorts to work on specific aspects of the reduction of fossil fuel reliance. “We are talking about our police department with the people in South Pasadena, Calif., who are transitioning all of their police vehicles to EV,” Beck said, adding they have collaborated with Flagstaff, Ariz., in submitting grant requests for their charging and fueling infrastructure.

For more information about the programs offered by the Clean Energy to Communities (C2C) program, go to www.energy.gov/eere/clean-energy-communities-program. Since January 2023, the Department of Energy has helped 250 communities throughout the United States by offering in-depth technical partnerships, short-term expert matches as well as the C2C cohort program.

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