Select Best Buy's will now feature electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, creating a futuristic gas station that sells flat screen TVs and iPods instead of month-old coffee and 10 varieties of jerky. Blink EV charging stations will be installed at 12 select Best Buy stores in Tucson, Ariz., Phoenix, Ariz., Los Angeles, Calif., San Diego, Calif., and Seattle, Wash.

Charging stations at these stores, within pilot markets of The EV Project, will be installed by March 2011.

As part of the agreement, ECOtality will initially install Blink chargers at 12 strategic Best Buy locations as part of the pilot program. Throughout the experiment, ECOtality will analyze real-world experiences of electric car users to continually develop best-practices for creating EV infrastructure in a variety of regions.

The data gathered from the Blink EV charging stations at the 12 Best Buy stores will provide a characterization of consumer charging behavior and identify potential incentives for EV host sites. Contingent upon the findings of the pilot program, ECOtality and Best Buy may expand the installation of Blink charging stations to include other store locations.

Blink Network chargers are fully interactive with color touch screens, and connect to a web portal that provides users with charge status, statistics, history, and billing information in addition to ease of payment options. This information is also available through the Blink Network smartphone application.

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