In April, the City of Seattle inked a deal with Nissan to be one of the first markets for the automaker's new all-electric LEAF (pictured). Now, a new grant will provide funds for the City to build charging stations throughout the Seattle area to support the transition to electric cars. According to the Seattle Times:

The Seattle area will gain 2,550 charging stations under a $100 million Energy Department grant through the Electric Transportation Engineering Corp. to cities in Washington, Oregon and three other states.

Seattle residents who purchase the LEAF will receive a 220-volt charging station for their homes ... free.

The infrastructure improvement could help boost the Emerald City into a new era of energy use. Electric vehicle charging stations are of course a necessary part of the infrastructure needed to support a large-scale transition to electric cars. But they're more than that: they're also one key part of Smart Garage technology -- cars plugged into charging stations linked to a smart grids (along with buildings) can serve as energy sources for the city during times of peak demand. This will help create a more flexible, resilient and efficient energy system for the whole city (Read more about this concept in the Worldchanging archives here, here and here).

Could you tell us any further information about the logistics of how one might sign up for this?

Posted by: Brice Maryman on August 7, 2009 10:58 AM

Hi, when will these stations be built and people can buy the cars?

Posted by: Daniel Done on August 14, 2009 8:26 AM

Daniel and Brice,

According to this article, the Nissan LEAF cars will be available for sale starting October 2010.

People who buy the Nissan LEAF at that time will get a 220-volt charging station installed in their home at no additional cost. Additionally, a network of public charging stations, capable of charging any electric vehicle, will be installed throughout the Seattle metro area. The public stations will work more quickly than the home stations, with 50 of them having the capacity to charge a car within 15 minutes (the home stations will require 4-6 hours).

Also exciting: "Zipcar is part of the deal, and will put electric cars on the streets for members of its car-sharing service."

Posted by: Julia on August 18, 2009 2:03 PM

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