EVs are perfect for some people that drive short distances each day and have the time to wait for a vehicle’s battery pack to fully charge. Just about every major carmaker in the world is hard at work on hybrids and electric vehicles that will produce less pollution and reduce the need for foreign oil.

One of the newest EVs on the market today is the Nissan Leaf. Nissan has offered an update on the battery plant that it is building in Smyrna, Tennessee next to a production facility being retooled to build the Leaf EV. The battery facility will make lithium-ion battery packs specifically to power the Leaf and will produce up to 200,000 battery packs per year. The Leaf production facility next to the battery plant has an annual capacity of up to 150,000 Leaf vehicles. The two facilities when in full production will add 1,300 jobs.

"Nissan is making significant strides to be one of the largest producers of electric vehicles and batteries in the United States," said Carlos Tavares, Chairman, Nissan Americas. "We applaud President Obama's goal of bringing 1 million electric vehicles to U.S. roads by 2015 and look forward to doing our part to ensure that many of those vehicles, and the batteries that power them, are built in the United States."

The combined construction costs for the battery plant and the retooling of the Leaf facility will add up to $1.7 billion. Up to 80% of those costs are being funded by a loan from the U.S. Department of Energy. That loan was issued to Nissan as part of the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program.

The foundation for the battery plant is laid and the structure and roof are being installed right now on the 1.3 million square foot facility. The first Leaf vehicle was delivered to a man in the San Francisco Bay area in December 2010. The Leaf has a 99mpg EPA fuel rating and can drive about 73 miles on a full charge.