Southern Co. is among a group of four energy companies that will get billions in federal funding to build new nuclear reactors, according to a story in Wednesday’s Wall Street Journal.

The paper said Atlanta-based Southern Co. (NYSE: SO), UniStar Nuclear Energy, NRG Energy Inc. and Scana Corp. will share $18.5 billion in federal financing through the U.S. Department of Energy so that they can begin building in 2011 and plants can begin operations around 2015 or 2016…more