Electric cars have always been the subject of more talk than action, and to date, only a handful of fully electric vehicles are on the road. But now, the biggest Danish power company is working with a Silicon Valley start-up in a $100 million effort to wire the country with charging poles and service stations that can change out a battery in minutes. To promote the initiative, the Danish government is offering a minimum $40,000 tax break on each new electric car and free parking in downtown Copenhagen.

But even in Denmark, one of the most environmentally conscious nations on the planet, the plan has been met with skepticism. It is still unclear whether car buyers can be persuaded to make the switch. “There is a psychological barrier for consumers when their car is dependent on a battery station,” said Henrik Lund, professor of energy planning at Aalborg University. “It’s risky.”

The Silicon Valley start-up, Better Place, is making a big push to supplant petroleum-burning engines in both Denmark and Israel. The experiment has additional implications that reach beyond the Scandinavian nation. By revamping the power grid, Dong Energy, Better Place’s partner and the biggest utility in Denmark, wants to power the anticipated fleet of electric cars with wind energy. With Better Place and the smart grid working together, cars would charge up as the winds blow at night, when power demand is at its lowest. Charging would soak up the utility’s extra power and sharply shrink the carbon footprint of electric vehicles.

I personally believe automakers will eventually embrace electric vehicles on a large scale; it’s just a question of when. I think it’s important for the skeptics to keep in mind that in every industry, the incumbent always says it will never change. The mainframe guys said people would never need PCs, and I think the same will eventually hold true for the electric car.

View a previously written post by Mouli Cohen about electric cars