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As part of the EV Project, ECOtality and the City’s Office of Economic Development are providing businesses with free electric vehicle charging stations, a $1,500 installation credit and an opportunity to be part of the revenue sharing model.

"We've been keeping an eye out for what's next," said Charlie Cunniff from the Seattle Climate Partnership. The electric vehicle has been coming for quite a while and now it's here.There will be at least 1,000 Nissan Leafs driving around Seattle this year and they're going to need a place to 'tap off' outside of their home," Cunnif said.

In 2009, the U.S. Department of Energy awarded a $115 million grant to ECOtality to manage the EV Project, installing 15,000 charging stations in 16 cities in six states, 1200 of which will be between Everett and Tacoma.

This pilot project will help the Department of Energy determine where to install additional chargers and to understand the habits of electric vehicle drivers.

Cunniff said the EV Project attracted the new Nissan dealership to Seattle and offers growth opportunities for local businesses.

There will be publicly available charging stations at various public parking garages in Seattle but as part of the OED's mission to help businesses grow, start, and green, the City is encouraging businesses to participate in this pilot project and install a free charging station at their business.

Dan O'Shea from ECOtality North America said Ballard is a good destination for electric charging stations and expects to see between 12 to 24 stations in Ballard alone.

The number is flexible because it depends on how big the parking lots are and how much interest he receives, O'Shea said.

"There's no reason why someone wouldn't want one of these," he said. "There's a little bit of a business incentive here because you're drawing electric vehicle owners to your business," O'Shea said.

O'Shea said the targeted demographic is similar to the current Prius-driving demographic which are popular in Seattle.

"Interest has been high," said O'Shea, adding they will be a little bit selective in who receives the free charging stations.

Qualifications for receiving a charging station include a big enough publicly available parking lot with at least one ADA accessible parking spot, internet connectivity, and an electric panel of the business with room for another fuse.

At a Phinney/Greenwood Chamber of Commerce meeting last week some people expressed concerns about who is going to regulate charging fees at privately owned properties.

Cunniff said that while public spaces will be charging anywhere between $1.25 and $2.50 for charging, it's up to the business owner's discretion how much to charge for charging stations on private property.

The business owner is responsible for the electricy bill but O'Shea said the costs are minimal.

"They still only pay $0.10 per kilowatt hour which means a two-hour charge would cost the business 20 cents," he said.

Additionally, business owners in the pilot project will be part of a revenue sharing model which "is enough to cover electricity costs and routine maintenance," O'Shea said.

Seattle is the third largest metro in the U.S. in purchasing electric vehicles because "Seattle embraces new things from music to technology to art," he said. "That's why the Leaf is rolling out here."

Businesses interested in being part of the pilot project should email Dan O'Shea directly at doshea@ecotality.com.