ReachNow is opening 20 electric charging stations around Seattle. (BMW Photo)

BMW’s car-sharing service, ReachNow, today unveiled the first of more than 100 “Light and Charge” electric vehicle chargers coming to Seattle.

The technology, developed by BMW, turns street lamps and light poles in parking lots into electric vehicle chargers. Twenty charging stations will hold the 100 chargers throughout Seattle, the first North American city to get BMW’s public Light and Charge program.

BMW unveiled Light and Charge at an event at Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo, where the first chargers have been installed. ReachNow said the new chargers will double the number of publicly available electric vehicle stations in Seattle.

The $1.2 million investment will allow ReachNow to add more electric vehicles, mainly the i3, which make up about 10 percent of its fleet.

“Public access to charging stations is a critical step to increasing the adoption and use of electric vehicles,” ReachNow CEO, Steve Banfield said in a statement. “The more EV charging stations there are, the faster we can scale the number of EVs in the ReachNow fleet and make sustainable urban transportation services more widely available.”

The zoo was chosen both due to its popularity, and its reputation for sustainable policies. The zoo has the highest attendance of any institution in the region with more than 1.3 million visitors per year, according to a statement from zoo President and CEO Alejandro Grajal.

ReachNow’s North American headquarters is in Seattle and, the service launched locally a little more than a year ago. ReachNow boasts more than 50,000 members and since its debut, has expanded service in Seattle and come to Portland and Brooklyn. There are now 700 ReachNow vehicles in Seattle, up from 370 at launch.

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