Gov. Mike Easley deserves high praise for his foresight in asking, in his final budget request of his administration, for money for a research project at North Carolina State University that could lead to a viable electric car.

In conjunction with Easley’s proposal, two power companies — Progress Energy and Duke Energy — have agreed to build a statewide network of stations along the highways where motorists can plug in their cars to recharge, much like recharging a cellphone.

The plan could cost up to $5 million the first year and $1 million per year thereafter, the governor said. The money would go to N.C. State’s new Advanced Transporation Energy Center to develop the so-called Wolfpack Power Pack. The objective is to design a battery that would efficiently and affordably power electric cars.

The state reportedly is in ongoing discussions with General Motors about designing a car that would use th Wolfpack Power Pack. (N.C. State’s sports teams are referred to as the Wolfpack.)

After years of allegations and scandals involving corruption and cronyism in the Department of Transportation, we find it pleasantly ironic and almost counter-intuitive that this bold transportation initiative could be the Easley administration’s best-remembered legacy.

Some aspects that bear close scrutiny include the motives of the power companies’ support. In the past, they have shown little interest in generating electricity by any means other than burning fossil fuels or using nuclear power plants.

We would regret merely replacing tailpipe pollution with smokestack pollution, or filling those newly silent highways — the electric cars run very quietly — with more trucks bearing nuclear waste.

Ideally, the electric-car initiative would be the perfect complement to the search for more sustainable means of generating power for human beings.

Even if the governor is pursuing the initiative for political gain, in this case, that concern is somewhat irrelevant because the United States and its citizens stand to benefit greatly from the plan.

Given America’s addiction to oil and the increasingly apparent drawbacks of ethanol as a gasoline substitute, Easley is setting an agenda that likely will prove far-sighted and wise.