Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle announced Tuesday that the state wishes to link to the Better Place network of plug-in electric vehicles. Better Place, a venture-backed company designed to reduce demands on petroleum through infrastructure favoring electric cars, is similar in concept to gas stations, by offering drivers with electric vehicles an automated system that swaps out exhausted lithium ion car batteries for fully-charged ones.

According to the plan, consumers would buy or lease electric cars, and Better Place would supply recharging services and batteries. Consumers would have a choice of buying mileage plans, which would include recharging services and battery swaps. Or being guests on the network and paying for each battery charge. Shai Agassi, one of the Better Place founders, said his firm will buy renewable electricity to cover his network's needs.

Better Place plans to have the stations open for the mass market by 2011. It expects to build between 50,000 to 100,000 charge spots located in parking lots, downtown streets, and neighborhoods across the state by early 2012.
Under the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative, created in January, the state plans to cut its dependence on oil to 30% from 90% by 2030. In order to do so, it must ramp up electricity production from renewable resources, like the wind and sun, and use electricity to displace gasoline in some portion of its 1.1 million vehicles.

Renault-Nissan, whose eMegane vehicle would go that distance, is working with Better Place to deploy its e-car prototypes in Israel this winter, Wired Magazine said in an August profile of Agassi. The company is in talks with other automakers about whether e-cars they're developing could be recharged at its stations. Several car manufacturers, including Tesla and Chevrolet, are developing electric cars as we speak.