Because of the pollution trees are stunted

At 7: 30 stack, the morning team is assembled in a row in the alleys of the plant. Rain, that he sale or snow, the day begins with a jog in the Chinese manufacturer of solar panels Yingli Solar. Strapped in marine blue uniforms, men and women marched at a trot by Squad of 120. "1, 2, 3!" screams the foreman. Workers resume in chorus. After the warm-up, employees cycled through tai chi exercises, to the rhythm of the cries of the team leader. Then globalization requires, they take an English course. A young woman, jeune Chinese words Une jeune femme, des mots jeune chinois braille des des des des Une jeune chinois braille des une jeune Chinese braille and then translated into the language of Shakespeare. Four words are in the program this morning: "Green energy". Great prospect!

Nearly 6,000 employees working in Baoding, 140 kilometres south of Beijing, for Yingli Solar. In a grey and cold city where nature seems to have disappeared. Because of the pollution, trees are stunted. Here, the plastic bags are sometimes the only spots of a desolate landscape. This does not prevent the city to be at the forefront of the fight for the environment. It has 180 companies in solar and wind energy and says employ 20,000 people in this area, is almost as much as in France.

20-30 Cheaper

Solar panels made in Baoding leave mainly towards Europe. In the coming months, GDF Suez will thus use 145,000 panels Yingli to build a large solar plant on the ground in the South of the France. With a capacity of 32 megawatts ridges (MWc), it will be installed in Curbans, in the Alpes-de-high-de-Provence. GDF Suez is not the only one to opt for the Chinese signs. If EDF Energies Nouvelles is based on the technology of the First Solar U.S. for its solar farms, the Green subsidiary of EDF widely uses Chinese suppliers to install systems for individuals. Same observation in Germany with Phoenix Solar or Spain with Iberdrola.

What is success At the price. France, a panel manufactured in China is 20-30 cheaper than a European equivalent. Labour costs ' work and energy make the difference. In Yingli, a worker earns between 200 and 300 euros a month.

Four top ten manufacturers of solar panels in the world are now Chinese. In the future, this weight will still increase. The first of them, Suntech, table on an increase in its sales volumes of 70 in 2010. His compatriots, Trina Solar and Yingli, provide more than 80 increases. "We have practically sold all our production capacity for this year", welcomes Stuart Brannigan, Director Europe at Yingli.

This restart occurs at the end of a real bloodbath. With the crisis and the tightening of credit conditions, many solar projects were cancelled in 2009. Prices of panels fell more than 40 last year. Under pressure, Suntech saw its turnover of 1.7 billion to 1.4 billion while Yingli saw his back of 4 to $ 1 billion. The Berezina skim the market. About 65 of the Chinese manufacturers of modules would bankrupt in 2009, according to PwC.

60,000 people in Germany

Benefit groups that survived to full recovery. They massively increased their production capacity by purchasing machines to European OEMs such as Roth & Rau or Manz. End of 2010, the production capacity of the first four Chinese groups (Suntech, Yingli, Trina Solar and Solarfun) should meet more than 40 of global needs for 2011. This rise concerned the German players as Q-Cells. Long number one world of solar cells in crystalline silicon, the society has been wrests his year last by Chinese Suntech.

Solar industry employs 60,000 people in Germany. The France does not play in the same category. With the exception of Photowatt (70 MW of capacity), the country lacks companies throughout the industrial process. Most of the players simply to buy cells abroad and assemble.