Honolulu - Hawaii has unveiled plans to be first in the nation to roll out electric car stations statewide - a move the governor hailed as a major step toward weaning the islands off oil.

Hawaii imports foreign oil for almost 90 percent of its energy needs. One-third of that oil is used to power cars and buses on island streets.

Gov. Linda Lingle said last week the program would help Hawaii meet its goal of slashing fossil fuel use 70 percent by 2030.

"This is the preferred future," Lingle said at a news conference. "Today is a part of the execution of our energy independence, and our getting off the addiction to oil."

Better Place, a Palo Alto.-based company, will build the car recharging stations and provide recharged batteries for electric cars.

The company will purchase renewable energy - such as wind power - from Hawaiian Electric Co., the state's largest utility.

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 - in parking lots, downtown streets and in neighborhoods - across the state by early 2012.

Other communities, such as the Bay Area, have announced plans to host Better Place recharging stations. But Hawaii aims to be the first to have the stations statewide. Better Place also has deals to create electric vehicle infrastructures in Israel, Denmark and Australia.

Shai Agassi, Better Place's founder and chief executive officer, said the Nissan Motor Co.-Renault SA auto alliance has agreed to make electric cars that would be recharged at the stations.

Better Place is also talking to other automakers, including the Big Three: Chrysler LLC, Ford Motor Co., and General Motors Corp. Ford are planning to accelerate the rollout of electric vehicles as part of its restructuring plan, submitted to Congress last week. The first plug-in vehicle will be a Transit Connect small van for commercial use in 2010 and a car the size of the Ford Focus compact the following year.

Ford also said it will accelerate plans for hybrid gas-electric vehicles.

Agassi sees Hawaii as an ideal place to show off Better Place technology because the state welcomes over 5 million tourists each year from the U.S. mainland, Japan, Canada and the rest of the world.

"If we can get them into electric cars when they rent, we do two great things," Agassi said. "One, we avoid emissions and, two, we use the opportunity to educate them, to teach them in Hawaii how it needs to be done in the rest of the world."