First Solar (Nasdaq:FSLR), Suntech Power Holdings (NYSE:STP), Yingli Green Energy (NYSE:YGE), Trina Solar (NYSE:TSL), GT Solar International (Nasdaq:SOLR) in 2010

Not long after the new year in 2010, the solar sector in general took a big hit, and it hasn't recovered yet, although some of the companies listed here, like First Solar (Nasdaq:FSLR), Suntech Power Holdings (NYSE:STP), Yingli Green Energy (NYSE:YGE), Trina Solar (NYSE:TSL) and GT Solar International (Nasdaq:SOLR), did have a good and consistent year, while others faltered.

Much of that was based on declining solar demand in Germany and fiscal tightness of countries which were in economic crisis.

First Solar ended the year at $130.14, losing $0.95 on December 31, down 0.72 percent. The company had a 52-week trading range of $98.71 to $152.53. They ended the year with a market cap of $11.16 billion. They started to rebound incrementally in the latter half of the year.

Suntech Power Holdings closed the year out at $8.01, rising $0.17 on the last trading day, up 2.17 percent. The trading range for 2010 was from $7.05 to $18.78. They ended the year with a market cap of $1.44 billion.

Yingli Green Energy finished off the year at $9.88, rising $0.10 on Friday, a gain of 1.00 percent. The 2010 trading range for them was $8.31 to $19.11. They closed off the year with a market cap of $1.50 billion. Yingli was among those not able to recover after the plunge in January 2010, and continued to drop as the year went on.

Trina Solar ended 2010 at $23.42, up $0.25 on the final trading day of the year, increasing 1.08 percent. Their trading range for the year was $14.85 to $31.19. Their market cap heading into 2011 is $1.64 billion. Trina began to rebound in June, but still hasn't been able to reach the levels it started 2010 off with.

GT Solar International finished 2010 at $9.12, gaining $0.11, or 1.22 percent on the last day of the year. Their 52-week trading range was $4.90 to $9.25. Their market cap at the end of the year was $1.38 billion. They were one of the few solar companies that had a good advance throughout the entirety of 2010.