Although this figure increased by almost 30% to reach 1.4 GW in 2010, China-based solar industry giant Suntech Power has knocked First Solar from the first position.

FORBES: Suntech Unseats First Solar For Tops In PV Module Production

Solar Frontier, a start-up company based in Tokyo, Japan selling leading-edge solar CIS technology, is opening an office in Khobar, Saudi Arabia to strengthen its position in the emerging solar-power market in the Middle East, which it has described as a strategic priority for long-term growth.

FORBES: Solar Heats Up in Saudi Arabia

On the bright side for First Solar, its strong financial position could help it outlast competitors in a downturn which would result in excess capacity being taken out of the sector.

FORBES: Solyndra Bankruptcy Can't Stop First Solar From Bouncing Back To $135

In 2013, we will strengthen our leadership position by penetrating new markets in solar and further streamlining our semiconductor operations.

FORBES: MEMC Rallies As Q4 Financial Results Top Estimates

However, not all solar sector stocks are worth considering for a bullish position.

FORBES: Have Fun With Options As Solar Stocks Shine Again

Citi's Benson believes the German company Wacker Chemie should be least affected by the feed-in tariffs because of its low-cost position in polysilicon, a material used to make solar panels.

FORBES: Energy

To keep a pulse on the rapidly evolving solar market and better understand what companies need to do to better position themselves for the future, PwC has published the PV Sustainable Growth Index, a ranking of the largest publicly traded solar companies, for the last eight years.

FORBES: Solar Leaders Pull Away From The Pack

AU, is the distance from the sun to the earth, so the position of the dust coincides with that of the rocky planets of the earth's solar system.

ECONOMIST: Planetary formation