Today’s headlines: Winter storm knocks out power, strains natural gas supply

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.

WINTER STORM

• Winter Storm Fern knocks out power to more than 1 million customers across the U.S., with outages concentrated in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. (Politico)

• The ongoing storm causes a surge in natural gas power plant outages and restricted gas supplies in the mid-Atlantic, and has New England leaning heavily on oil-fired power plants to meet higher-than-forecast demand. (Reuters)

• Texas’ independent power grid seems to have remained stable throughout the storm. (Texas Tribune)

• Oil and gas refiners on the Gulf Coast shut down refining units amid freezing temperatures, disrupting as much as 10% of U.S. natural gas production. (Bloomberg)

OFFSHORE WIND

• If Vineyard Wind isn’t allowed to resume construction, the project’s 10 partially installed turbines would be at risk of catching fire, dumping debris into the ocean, or injuring workers, according to court filings from the developer. (Nantucket Current)

• European countries plan to sign a pact today committing themselves to building 100 GW of offshore wind power. (Reuters)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• A federal judge rules the Trump administration unlawfully halted funding for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program. (Reuters)

SOLAR

• Missouri lawmakers consider legislation to enact what would be the U.S.’s first statewide moratorium on utility-scale solar development. (Heatmap)

MINING

• The Trump administration plans $1.6 billion in loan financing for USA Rare Earth to manufacture rare earth magnets, with the U.S. government taking a stake in the company in exchange. (Axios)

CLEAN ENERGY

• A coalition of 20 Democratic-led states asks a federal judge to block six Trump administration policies they say arbitrarily disrupt clean energy development. (E&E News)