All the ingredients exist today to the French chain champion to export

What is happening to Photowatt is quite iconic of the hours, misfortunes and conditions of renewal of the French photovoltaic sector.

Historic leader of the France sector, with strong strengths, Photowatt found himself facing fierce global competition the now leading to a recovery plan. Efforts will be the full extent that if the State committed a proactive industrial policy strong for structuring the whole of the sector.

Photowatt, is primarily historical actor photovoltaic technology in France for thirty years, only fully integrated business, since the treatment of Silicon up to the manufacture and sale of solar panels and turnkey systems. Photowatt, they are also about 200 million turnover, 540 created permanent jobs, 1,000 subcontractors and 400 megawatts of installed capacity. It is a constant effort in R & D, including in partnership with the Ines, the CEA and EDF ENR in PV Alliance, to be at the forefront of innovation in electrical performance of cells. Finally, it is a company that, until the arrival of the crisis three years ago, exports more than 90 of its production and its know-how abroad.

The crisis and the world, including Asian competition it were driven in a vicious circle which chains are sadly simple. The original tax incentives from Governments for renewable energy, resulting in effective takeoff of the application, with extremely high global growth rates of the order of 30 per year. A massive investment, particularly on the part of Asian producers: if indeed 1 million euros to produce 1 megawatt, the Chinese have invested EUR 1 billion for 1 gigawatt plants.

Price, the world production overcapacity is the order of 1 to 2 in relation to demand (40 GW against 20 gigawatts of application) and a war without mercy

The moratorium decided by the Government, if it is justified by the speculative excitement of the market, is arrived to Photowatt at the worst possible moment, setting aside 40 of its charge in 2011 plan and making it uncertain, including time, the conditions for restarting the activity.

Today, how out Photowatt, SME innovative and creative value of this gear that may be fatal It must be that industrial relief committed so painfully for its employees and their families plan is accompanied by a stream, proactive, ambitious and structuring on the part of the Government policy.

A sector policy, it is first out through the top of the moratorium, re-evaluating, less than 800 megawatts, the threshold of annual installed capacity development. Manufacturers have invested heavily and created 25,000 jobs in three years. Curb their prospects for development will have an immediate impact on job creation and current jobs. It is set, the output of the moratorium, a phase of transition smart and carefully to deposited records cases.

A sector policy, it is also a structuring of the sector to play the complementarity and efficiency between large industrial operators, innovative SMEs and laboratories on the Sun among the most in-the-art, funded by investors as private money public.

All the ingredients exist today to the French chain champion to export. Photowatt with ambition, its know-how and its technological research for the homojunction and the upcoming heterojunction, is ready to take his part.

The Government, for its part, has a unique opportunity to give political impetus to transform his promise in fact industrial, generator of employment and added value for the France.