Today’s headlines: A quiet nuclear safety overhaul, and GE Vernova’s struggles

This roundup of U.S. energy news headlines is part of our Canary Media Daily newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox each morning.

NUCLEAR

• Internal documents show the DOE is overhauling nuclear safety regulations and sharing the changes with affected companies in an attempt to speed development of next-generation reactors. (NPR)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Tesla will end production of its Model S sedan and Model X crossover and use a California factory to produce robots instead. (NBC News)

• Tesla says its profit fell 46% year over year, a massive drop, but less severe than analysts anticipated. (NPR)

OFFSHORE WIND

• GE Vernova says its wind business could lose $250 million this year because of the Trump administration’s halt to Vineyard Wind construction. (Reuters)

POLICY

• President Donald Trump signs a ​“minibus” package that will fund the DOE, EPA, and Interior Department through September, and includes funds to support advanced nuclear and other emerging energy technologies. (E&E News)

• The Trump administration will reportedly delay finalizing its repeal of the U.S. EPA’s endangerment finding over concerns the move won’t survive court challenges. (Washington Post)

• Republicans and Democrats on the Senate environmental committee push the Trump administration to ensure fully permitted projects will not be dismantled, like the administration has done with offshore wind. (E&E News)

GRID

• This past week’s winter storm exposed weaknesses in the nation’s distribution grid, which carries electricity from substations to buildings, as it toppled power lines and brought widespread outages. (Grist)

• Electric and gas utilities requested nearly $31 billion in rate increases last year, more than double what they asked for the year before. (Heatmap)

SOLAR

• The Gemini Solar Project outside of Las Vegas shows careful planning can preserve delicate plants and other species when solar farms are built, and even help them thrive. (Grist)

DATA CENTERS

• The DOE lets data centers in the PJM Interconnection use polluting diesel generators through Saturday as a cold spell drives up power demand. (Inside Climate News)

BATTERIES

• Redwood Materials, now Redwood Energy, announces $425 million in Series E funding as it expands its battery recycling mission. (Heatmap)

HEAT PUMPS

• Massachusetts and Minnesota utilities are offering discounted electricity rates for customers who use heat pumps to keep warm through the winter, with Colorado set to follow. (New York Times)