OREANDA-NEWS. October 15, 2010. Russian businesses are counting on the government's support to push through legislation in the field of alternative energy, billionaire Viktor Vekselberg said at a meeting with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

"Alternative energy legislation is being drafted. Not just solar energy but wind and tidal energy. This sector is very important for the future of Russia, which is rich in oil and gas," Vekselberg said.

"I'd like to ask for your help in preparing and pushing through the regulatory acts," he said.

Vekselberg also briefed Putin on a project that Swiss hi-tech firm Oerlikon, in which his Renova group is a major shareholder, is delivering in conjunction with state nanotechnology corporation Rusnano in the Russian internal republic of Chuvashia.

"Full-scale construction is under way. We'll start to install equipment by the end of the year and then be in a position to start producing nano-coated solar panels," Vekselberg said, adding that this would be Russia's first such enterprise.

The enterprise should be the basis for the Russian solar power industry's development. The next stage is to build solar parks in the North Caucasus and Stavropol territory, for example, Vekselberg said.

Vekselberg is investing actively in western hi-tech firms. "At first, the attitude towards Russian capital wasn't straightforward. We were regarded as fleeting investors, market speculators. But the attitude changed in time, and people in the West came to realize that Russian investors had long-term plans," he said.

Vladimir Putin said Russian investors who had pumped money into western companies had helped them stay afloat during the financial crisis.

"I can say with some satisfaction that during the financial crisis, Russian investors who had put money into foreign assets proved able not only to withstand the strain but also to render certain support to the enterprises in which they had invested," Putin said.

As a result, Russian investors have the opportunity to take advantage of the high technology present in their assets abroad and to bring that technology to Russia itself, he said.

Renova is a major investor in two Swiss hi-tech firms, Sulzer and Oerlikon. Vekselberg's group helped to restructure Oerlikon's debt in 2009-2010. The negotiations produced an agreement by which Renova would inject more than USD 400 million into the company.