Where to Find Free Electric Car Charging Stations in Seattle Area

With the introduction of electric cars, and organized efforts to designate "green" highways in the Pacific Northwest, more and more drivers in the Seattle area will need to know where to find free electric car charging stations for their efficient new cars.

Electric cars are suddenly a hot topic nationwide, but perhaps nowhere moreso than the Seattle area. Washington was chosen as one of the initial launch markets for both the Nissan Leaf and the Ford Focus. Motor Trend magazine chose the Chevy Volt as its 2011 Car of the Year. But, as these electric cars roll off the lot, drivers will need to know where to find free electric car charging stations in the Seattle area.

Seattle

The General Parking garage at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport offers six parking spaces with free charging stations for electric cars. The charging stations are located on the fifth floor of the garage, one level above the skybridges that connect to the airport terminal.

In the spring of 2011, there are plans to install three free electric car charging stations at select Seattle area Best Buy stores, as part of a government-funded program overseen by an organization called ECOtotality.Seattle is one of five markets for the Best Buy pilot program.

"This is a small experiment in 12 stores, and it's part of a broader experiment that investigates where this technology is going for consumers," says Best Buy spokeswoman Kelly Groehler. "We've been out there with other electric vehicle experiments, and this is the latest in play."

Bellevue

The city of Bellevue recently passed a local ordinance making it easier to install electric car charging stations for private and public use. City government itself is leading the way, having installed the area's first free charging stations for electric cars at City Hall on 110th Ave NE late in 2010.

"We're excited about getting charging stations here," says Mayor Don Davidson. "In keeping with the goals of our Environmental Stewardship Initiative, we want to encourage cleaner transportation options. Helping create a network of charging stations in our region is one way of doing that."

In addition, Nissan of the Eastside at 11815 NE 8th Street in Bellevue, has a pair of charging stations to service the Leaf electric cars that are now available from the dealership.

Redmond

Early in 2011, the city of Redmond opened its first electric car charging stations as well. The stations are located at City Hall on NE 85th Street, and at the city offices at on NE 76th St. Unlike Bellevue, however, Redmond has installed charging stations from the ChargePoint network, and electric car owners will have to pay $4-$6 to charge their cars.

Interstate 5 and U.S. Route 2

The state of Washington is leading the way in planning for longer travel by electric car owners, as it designates two of the state's major highways for widespread installation of charging stations.

Interstate 5 between the state's north and south borders will be the site of a federally-funded project to build the nation's first "electric highway," called the West Coast Greenway. It is part of a plan to eventually build over 2,000 electric car charging stations throughout the state.

The U.S. Route 2 project envisions transforming the Stevens Pass Greenway section of the east-west highway into the country's first National Scenic Byway equipped with electric car charging stations.