Technical re-equipment and reforming of the Russian power complex is now a priority state task addressed with the active involvement of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Some areas of this work were touched upon by Acad. Vladimir Fortov, Academician-Secretary of the Department of Power Engineering, Machine-Building, Mechanics and Management of the Russian Academy of Sciences in an interview to our correspondent Yevgeniya Sidorova. стр. 61 - Now what are the problems that could be solved with the aid of innovations in our power industry? - A situation in this industry is very difficult. For over 15 years it was actually subsidizing the transient economy having no sufficient investments for its own development. At that time the decline of the GDP was outrunning the decrease in energy generation. Today we see economic pickup, and it needs to be sustained with new generating capacities commissioned at the rate of 4 to 5 GW each year. In addition, no less than 70 percent of the worn-out equipment of the fuel and energy complex should be replaced. And this should be done with the use of scientific and technological innovations. In March 2006 the Unified Energy System of Russia (RAO EES) and the Russian Academy of Sciences signed a large-scale agreement on scientific and technological cooperation. And presently, our specialists are completing work on the program of technical re-equipment of the power industry, which is the main goal of this agreement. A good deal of work, comparable in scope to the historical GOELRO (State Committee for Electrification of Russia) Plan, lies ahead. The implementation of that plan in the 1920s made it possible to raise the entire country to a qualitatively higher economic level. A top priority task today is to raise the effectiveness and reliability of the power industry. With this view science and engineering are offering new generating facilities 1.5 to 2 times as efficient as those now employed. I would like to make special mention of ... Read more