SPARTA, WI (WXOW)— It's an age old question, what came first, the chicken or the egg?
MTNT Energy Inc, a downtown Sparta business, decided the chicken.
MTNT donated $6,000 to install a ChargePoint, a charging station for electric cars in Sparta.
It's the first of its kind between Milwaukee, Madison and Minneapolis.
Critics ask why spend the money on a charging station when there aren't that many electric cars around?
"I believe it's a part of forward thinking as the world progresses I think you're going to be seeing more in renewable energy such as the electric cars," Larsi Sondreal, MTNT Contract Administrator said.
Electric car owners can find or reserve the station online at http://chargepoint.com/chargepointnet/ and with a smart phone app.
Sparta's ChargePoint cost $5,000 to install; the remaining $1,000 is used to help keep the station free.
They're hoping the free energy is an incentive for people to stop in Sparta.
"Because we want to welcome people who have electric cars, encourage them to come to Sparta and utilize the bike trail and travel in the area," Todd Fahning, Sparta Community Development Director said.
They're also hoping while people wait two hours for their car to charge they'll shop downtown.
"If they do that's going to help the local merchants and by doing do that's going to help their economy," John Sund, Sparta Mayor said.
Mayor Sund said he's not sure if Sparta would have the charging station if it weren't for the donation; but he's grateful for it and excited about the opportunities it charges the city with.
There are other electric car charging stations in the area at gas stations, but the Sparta ChargePoint has a higher voltage than the other stations so the charge time is shorter.
