''2009 will be a period of consolidation for the market,'' said John West, an analyst with the firm, in a statement. The weaker companies are likely to be squeezed out over the coming year, he said.

The solar cell and module manufacturing equipment market reached a value of $4.4 billion in 2008. Growth in the market is expected to slow to 8 percent in 2009, ''as demand for cells starts to cool and smaller manufacturers struggle to secure the financing necessary to fund the next round of expansion,'' according to VLSI Research (Santa Clara, Calif.).

Still, the outlook for equipment suppliers this year varies by cell technology. ''Providers of equipment for thin film cell technologies will experience strong growth in revenues in 2009 due to large order backlogs and long customer acceptance times,'' according to the firm.

''In contrast, suppliers of equipment for silicon wafer cell manufacturing are expected to see a decline from 2008 levels as customers with excess capacity choose to fully ramp existing facilities before committing to new equipment,'' according to the firm.