SunPower (SPWRA) saw an increase of more than 10% in its stock price on March 15. This trend was seen across almost all companies in the solar industry, including SunPower's competitors FirstSolar (FSLR), SuntechPower (STP), and Yingli Green Energy (YGE).

Our price estimate for SunPower's stock is at $14.41, about 10% below its current market price.

Despite nuclear woes, despite higher import prices, and despite a weak overseas landscape, the markets recovered handily from the lows today began with. Even the FOMC keeping rates steady had very little impact. The markets were still in the red but today felt like a win when you consider where things were just 10 hours ago.

Here were today's unofficial closing bells:

Dow Jones 11,855.42 -137.74 (-1.15%)
S&P 500 1,281.87 -14.52 (-1.12%)
Nasdaq 2,667.33 -33.64 (-1.25%)

Utility and nuclear power generator Entergy Corporation (ETR), first discussed here on May 12, 2009, at a price of $74.31, is displaying a stock pattern that undoubtedly is frustrating to some investors.

The stock slid in bear hug-fashion from $80 to about $68, then rose to $75 before retreating back to about $70. The minor recovery could be interpreted as short covering in a long-term bearish pattern, or, if ETR holds support near the aforementioned $68, which is a short-term double-bottom, a bullish pattern. The view from here argues it's the latter, hence the trade remains in play.

The Russians are coming. A Russian state-owned company will control almost half of U.S. uranium production in the next few years.

The Financial Times reported on a partial takeover deal between AMRZ, the uranium mining division of State-owned Rosaton and Toronto's Uranium One. Uranium One controls mining operations in Wyoming, which would give AMRZ a footprint in the U.S.

Before the deal was struck, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) gave its approval. In addition, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission also gaveit the go-ahead.

The stock of utility and nuclear power generator Entergy Corp (ETR), which I first wrote about on May 12, 2009, at a price of $74.31, has meandered over the past six months, but I still like the shares at this juncture. Here's why:

Although, Entergy's planned spin-off of its nonnuclear assets into a new company called Enexus Energy has been delayed, due to delays in regulatory approvals by New York State, earnings should increase 3% to 5% in 2010, excluding one-time charges.

Tuesday was an important day in the nation's journey back toward energy independence, as President Barack Obama announced the approval of $8.3 billion in loan guarantees to help the Southern Co. (SO) build a nuclear power plant in Georgia.

The Obama administration has made a large increase nuclear power a top priority in its energy policy, in an effort to play catch-up for the decades lost without a coherent energy policy and without the wholesale development of the proven and innovative nuclear technology. Incredibly, no new nuclear plants have been licensed in the United States since 1979.

Take a picture: The implementation of a rational, self-reliant energy policy for the United States may be underway.

The Obama administration is expected to triple loan guarantees for new nuclear reactors to more than $54 billion in next year's budget, Bloomberg News reported Friday, citing two people familiar with the plan.

Nuclear power is coming back into style, and perhaps just in time for the climate, and for the United States.

Environmental groups, previously opposed to nuclear power, are starting to support the technology, as it represents the lesser of two evils compared to coal-fired electric power generation plants, The Washington Post reported Wednesday. And the choice is obvious enough: faced with either processing nuclear waste or seeing the atmosphere heat up to irreversible levels, via coal-producing climate change, nuclear technology wins.

From the this-is-long-overdue department, legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate would allocate as much as $20 billion in federal funds over 10 years to develop energy technology and double the nation's nuclear power output, Bloomberg News reported.

Legislation co-sponsored by U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, and U.S. Senator Jim Webb, D-Virginia, would offer $100 billion in loan guarantees for nuclear plants, which would amount to a $10 billion federal government liability. The bill would also fund research in solar energy, carbon capture, and other energy technologies.

There's perhaps no better example of how much the world has changed since the fall of the Berlin Wall 20 years ago and the end of the Cold Ware shortly thereafter, than the following: an American flips a switch to turn on a light in his or her home and the power came from where?

The Soviet Union.

That's right: from the Soviet Union. Unknown to many Americans, about 10% of the electricity in the United States is generated by fuel from dismantled nuclear bombs, including Soviet-era ones, The New York Times reported. Today, 45% of the fuel in American nuclear reactors stems from former Russian bomb material.

Rare is the day I'll sell an electric power generation play, particularly nuclear power. Unlike France, the United States frittered away an opportunity to create a 21st century power generation system 30 years ago, and it will now play catch-up for 20 years, and nuclear will be a part of the solution.

Entergy Corp. (NYSE: ETR), the second largest nuclear power generator in the U.S., will be a part of that mix. It is performing as expected, which is why I'm reiterating my Buy rating for the company's shares, first recommended on May 12, 2009 at a price of $74.31.

The market giveth and the market taketh away -- all in the same day. I was looking at how Shaw Group (NYSE: SGR) performed on Thursday. The company, an engineering firm that provides services relating to the energy and environmental industry for both the government and the private sector, was up 5.6% at the close of trading yesterday, powered by superb volume. But, in the after-hours session, it went down nearly 6.4%.

And, yes, the sell-off was on the back of an earnings report. For the third quarter, Shaw Group made 57 cents per share, excluding its acquisition of Westinghouse. The company made 67 cents per share in last year's similar quarter, also adjusted for the acquisition. Net sales were essentially flat.

This post is part of a series in which TheStockAdvisors.com asked financial experts to name their top stock pick if McCain or if Obama wins the election.

"John McCain has said that nuclear power must be part of a plan to address climate change and reduce our dependence on foreign oil; to benefit from this plan, buy Shaw Group (NYSE: SGR), which constructs and maintains nuclear power plants," says Paul Tracy in his Street Authority Market Advisor.

"Today, nearly half of U.S. electricity is created via conventional coal-fired plants. This made sense for us for decades -- coal is so cheap and plentiful here that the United States is often referred to as the Saudi Arabia of coal.

"However, in the past few years, the tide of public sentiment has shifted against the energy source. Primarily this is due to the emissions created by burning coal for electricity.

"In addition to the well known release of carbon dioxide, coal emissions also contain traces of mercury. On top of that, the rise of China and other emerging markets has led to higher costs for coal.

"So with a public that is increasingly interested in alternative sources of electricity and a president who is committed to increasing nuclear power usage, the companies that build and maintain nuclear plants sit in the perfect position to benefit.

"In particular, I think Louisiana-based Shaw Group is a stock to watch. SGR's largest end market is the construction and maintenance of power plants, including both plants fired by fossil fuels and nuclear facilities.

"The company also owns a 20% stake in Westinghouse Electric, one of the world's leading designers and builders of nuclear power plants.

This post is part of a series in which TheStockAdvisors.com asked financial experts to name their top stock pick if McCain or if Obama wins the election.

"If McCain is elected, we would suggest USEC (NYSE: USU); after slumbering for over 20 years, nuclear power is quickly emerging from hibernation and will be satisfying a much larger percentage of the nation's energy-hungry appetite during McCain administration," says value investor Nathan Slaughter, editor of Half-Priced Stocks.

"Currently, there are 104 nuclear plants in operation nationwide, which combined, account for 20% of the country's electricity. But both of those totals are set to rise markedly. Current forecasts suggest nuclear facilities could double their share and ultimately account for 40% of power in the U.S.

"There are several factors underpinning this resurgence in nuclear energy, not the least of which is $100 per barrel oil and elevated prices for natural gas and coal.

"Believe it or not, one kilogram of uranium-235 has the stored energy equivalent of 1,500 tons of coal. And while up-front construction expenses can be high, ongoing operating costs for nuclear reactors are running just $15-20 per megawatt hour, far cheaper than traditional plants.

"John McCain is an outspoken champion for the nuclear power movement, outlining ambitious plans to commit $315 billion towards the construction of 45 new reactors over the next two decades.

"Beyond that, he has a clear goal of achieving energy independence by building '100 new plants to power the homes and factories and cities of America.'

"All of this spells plenty of opportunity for USEC, owner of the nation's only uranium enrichment facility. The company is in the business of supplying fuel for commercial reactors around the world -- and competition is sparse.

"The firm also benefits from a longstanding nuclear non-proliferation treaty with Russia. Specifically, USEC participates in the salvaging of old Soviet nuclear warheads under the 'Megatons to Megawatts' program.

"The company has carved out a dominant market share and now supplies about half of the nation's enriched uranium (most of the rest comes from Russia).