Like Don Quixote tilting at windmills, the U.S. President just riffed on how much he hates wind turbines and wind power. He made some truly outlandish claims. We're here to fact-check the lot.

Over the weekend, while visiting his golf course in Scotland (and avoiding the heat back home over his alleged connections to Jeffery Epstein), President Trump hosted the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at Turnberry , ostensibly to negotiate a new trade deal with the European Union over import and export tariffs.

Prior to the meeting, the pair held a joint press conference, in which von der Leyen mainly remained quiet, and President Trump asked questions from the assembled media. But what got our - and other folks - attention the most was the plethora of misinformation spread on a wide range of different topics. Since we work in the world of clean cars and green energy, we just had to debunk his claims on both the auto industry and wind turbines. Because based on what he claimed, President Trump is incredibly misinformed.

Find the FULL Shownotes (and links to source material) at

⏱️ Chapter Breakdown:

00:00 - Introduction

Links:

U.S. Department of Energy's details on domestic wind turbine manufacturing. - https://www.energy.gov/eere/wind/wind-manufacturing-and-supply-chain

NREL's wind manufacturing and supply chain database. - https://www.nrel.gov/wind/materials-database

U.S. Wind Turbine Database - https://energy.usgs.gov/uswtdb/

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Threats to birds by min/max numbers. - https://www.fws.gov/library/collections/threats-birds

Noise from Wind Turbines (WindExchange - DOE) - https://windexchange.energy.gov/projects/sound

IMF: fossil fuel subsidies in 2022/23 - https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WP/Issues/2023/08/22/IMF-Fossil-Fuel-Subsidies-Data-2023-Update-537281

Lazard's 2024 Levelized Cost of Energy Report - https://www.lazard.com/media/xemfey0k/lazards-lcoeplus-june-2024-_vf.pdf

NOAA investigations into whale mortality - https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-life-distress/2016-2025-humpback-whale-unusual-mortality-event-along-atlantic-coast?utm_source=chatgpt.com

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00:00 - Sponsor shout outs 📢

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Final Two Stories:

Volvo's EX40 might sound like a new car, but it's actually a mild refresh of its previously-named XC40 Recharge.

Packed with all-wheel drive for 2025 - at least in the EX40 AWD Ultimate trim - the EX40 is built on a far older platform than the EX30 Nikki drove (and didn't like much - https://youtu.be/WU8zzkr7r8Q) a few weeks back. But is the EX40 worthy of your attention? Are there other options? And who exactly is the car meant for?

While we'd like to be more excited, this is one car for the suburban life - and the middle-aged parents who live there. Here's why.

⏱️ Chapter Breakdown:

00:00 - Introduction (Music: Flint - Strawberry Jam)

🎙️ Credits:

Presenters: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield and Kate Walton-Elliott

🔗 Links:

Our previous thoughts on its sibling (the C40 Recharge) https://youtu.be/cGd1lXECe6E

Watch Nikki's review of the EX30 https://youtu.be/WU8zzkr7r8Q

Watch our first-drive review of Volvo's EX90 three-row SUV https://youtu.be/LhvMlhwJboQ

💬 Do you prefer traditional buttons, or everything touch-screen?

As our two recent Volvo reviews show, the company is at a bit of a crossroads between its old design language (which used lots of buttons), and a more tech-centric, Tesla-esque "everything as a touchscreen" language.

We're fans of physical buttons, with screens when they make sense - and we feel making everything a touch screen can be a little too distracting. But what about you?

Start the conversation in the down below, or come on over to our Discord (it's free!).

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While our time with the Ford Home Integration System hasn't exactly been plain sailing (in fact, we've had a few glitches in our nearly three (not two, as Nikki said in the introduction) years of F150 Lightning ownership.

But now the system is just about reliable - and with Nikki's interest in coding taking off, she spent the July 4th week-long holiday coding something fun off the back of the excellent work already done by Ford F150 Lightning owner Eric Pullen.

👉 Watch on YouTube — or if you'd prefer (we would), PeerTube.

⏱️ Chapter Breakdown:

00:00 - Opening introduction

🎙️ Credits:

Host & Script: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield

Camera, Edit & Color: Vi Horton

Art & Animation: Erin Carlie

Producer: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield

Music: via Artlist.io

🔗 Links:

Home Assistant - https://www.home-assistant.io

HACS (Home Integration Community Store) - https://hacs.xyz

Eric Pullen's fcsp-api - https://github.com/ericpullen/fcsp-api

Nikki's Local-fcsp - https://github.com/aminorjourney/local-fcsp

Fordpass-HA (EV fork) https://github.com/marq24/ha-fordpass

💬 Have you tried Home Assistant automations and tie-ins for YOUR EV?

Have you ever tried using home automation products like Home Assistant to get extra data out of your EV? Would you? Or is it just like too much trouble? And if you do have some kind of home automation, what would you like it to do with regard to backup power, EVs, and energy?

Start the conversation in the down below, or come on over to our Discord (it's free!).

(Seriously, if you haven't tried our discord yet, please do. It's easier than you might think, and you can chat with other TE fans in a non-judgmental, troll-free space).

Plenty of people claim that EVs require no servicing at all — and if you're looking to save money short term, it certainly feels like not servicing your EV could be a win-win.

But do your EVs require servicing? Should you get every planned service the automaker wants you to?

Or is there a middle ground?

⏱️ Chapters

🎙️ Credits:

Presenter & Script: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield

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Volvo has, historically, been known for making quite conventionally-designed and engineered cars, with safety and longevity put at the top of the priority list.

So when Volvo announced the new EX30 electric car, it broke with a lot of its tradition in developing a brand-new car built with a heavy emphasis on 'Software Defined Features'. The result? A car with impressive performance for its price - and a very spartan, perfunctory interior.

But has Volvo managed to break its mold and move away from the blocky station wagons and SUVs of the past? Has it managed to make the affordable premium family car that others haven't yet?

Or does all the tech-first thinking get in the way for true car fans?

00:00 - Introduction (Music: Omri Smadar - Plantation)

Presenters: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield,

Links:

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We're back from our week-long break - and while we were gone, HR.1 - aka the "One Big Beautiful Bill" passed both houses and was signed into law.

While much of what we feared would be in it was taken out at the last minute, there's still massive implications for people hoping for a cleaner, greener, safer, smarter and more equitable future for transportation and energy.

Here's what was left in - how it impacts clean energy and EVs - and what you can do about it.

00:00 - Introduction

Presenter: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield.

© Transport Evolved LLC, 2025

Links:

See the bill for yourself at https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1

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A few weeks ago, Nikki got so frustrated with critters eating her peas and beans that she took drastic action: emptying an entire bag of seeds into the ground.

Seems like it worked...

About The Chicken and Garden Updates:

Presenter: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield.

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Credits

While we're fans of fully battery electric vehicle at the channel, there's been something of a noticeable pushback by both the auto industry and legislators in some markets against EVs.

In their place, we're seeing a resurgence of interest in plug-in hybrids.

But are plug-in hybrids really a good idea? Are they any use for most people? Could an EV prove a more practical alternative? Or are plug-in hybrids and range-extended EVs actually worthwhile for some people?

We have plenty of thoughts!

00:00 - Introduction

Presenter: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield.

© Transport Evolved LLC, 2025

Links:

Learn more about how vehicles work at @WeberAuto

Read Transport & Environment's study into plug-in hybrid emissions: https://www.transportenvironment.org/articles/plug-in-hybrids-pollute-more-than-claimed-in-cities-and-on-commutes-new-tests-show

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It's been a while since we gave you a TE update video - and given everything that's been going on (both at TE and in the wider world) we took advantage of a spate of misfortune to give you an important feedback - and "Your Questions Asked" video.

And yes, it's a filler - but we promise there's some important things to discuss.

00:00 - Introduction

Presenter: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield.

© Transport Evolved LLC, 2025

Links:

PLEASE help support the channel (if you are going to use Amazon) by using our Affiliate link: https://amzn.to/40xOyjm

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This video was made possible thanks to the kind donations of our supporters on Patreon and Ko-fi. Join them in supporting us.

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Buy the team a coffee -- or a meal!

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Join our Discord server at https://discord.gg/U3tnkGNfCA

Follow the show on Mastodon: https://mastodon.transportevolved.com/

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Use the TE Aptera referral code - i.refs.cc/zz56EbIi - but watch our explainer video FIRST: https://youtu.be/mwzwEssgqNI

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