Nuclear Power Profit$

Entergy, which owns 11 nuclear power plants, saw its income increase 45% as the cost of its atomic power started looking cheap compared to rising price of coal and natural gas-fired electric generating plants.

The company made a whopping $221.7 million on sales of power from its nuclear power plants, up 73% from a year earlier, according to Bloomberg.

People living in the shadow of nuclear power plants, who in many places want to see plants shut down – such as in New York's Hudson Valley, where the aging Indian Point plant sits – will have to get used to a new corporate name. Entergy plans to spin off a separate company, named Enexus, to run its nuclear power plant fleet.

Environmentalists have long opposed nuclear power out of concern over safety near plants, and a recognition that there's no great way to store radioactive waste that remains dangerous for thousands of years. However, nuclear energy is getting a second look by some since burning fossil fuels to make electricity is fouling the climate.

For the first time in a generation, companies are applying to build new nuclear power plants. These, as well as their older sisters, still face fierce opposition from local residents and some national advocacy groups.

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