DRIVE Electric Arizona Awarded IREC Charging Smart Grant
Helping Native Nations build local capacity for EVs and charging infrastructure
DRIVE Electric Arizona is pleased to announce that we have been selected as a 2026 Charging Smart Regional Engagement Partner, an important new opportunity to expand our work with Native Sovereign Nations across Arizona.
Led by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) as part of its Energy Ready suite of programs, Charging Smart provides technical assistance and recognition to communities working to make electric vehicle charging easier to plan, permit and deploy.
Under this grant, DRIVE Electric Arizona will focus specifically on helping Native Nations across Arizona work toward Charging Smart Bronze-level designation.
Building With Native Nations
Arizona is home to 22 federally recognized Tribal Nations, each with its own government, priorities, geography and economic opportunities. Our approach begins with a principle that has become central to DRIVE Electric Arizona:
Rather than bringing a predetermined EV infrastructure plan into a community, we will work with Tribal leaders and staff to understand their priorities and help them navigate the Charging Smart process.
Achieving Bronze designation can establish an important foundation for future EV charging by helping communities evaluate local practices, identify opportunities and develop the knowledge and processes needed to support charging infrastructure.
But the designation itself is not our ultimate goal.
Our larger objective is to build local capacity so that Native Nations can increasingly plan, develop and ultimately own the transportation and charging infrastructure that serves their communities.
Charging as Economic Infrastructure
For many rural and Tribal communities, EV charging is more than transportation infrastructure. Properly located charging can bring travelers into communities, support tourism and local businesses, strengthen important transportation corridors and create new opportunities for economic development.
That is particularly important in Arizona, where Tribal lands intersect with some of the state's most important travel and tourism routes.
A Volunteer Team Leading the Effort
The project will draw on the experience of DRIVE Electric Arizona's Native Nations Chapter and a volunteer team with expertise in Tribal engagement, utilities, transportation, EV infrastructure and community development.
As an all-volunteer statewide nonprofit, DRIVE Electric Arizona has built its model around partnerships and local leadership rather than a centralized, one-size-fits-all approach.
Charging Smart gives us another tool to bring statewide resources into communities while allowing each Nation to determine what works locally.
Our goal is straightforward:
Respect sovereignty. Build local capacity. Create pathways to local ownership.
Because the strongest programs are ultimately the ones communities can sustain—and own—themselves.