Kyocera is lauding the Public Utilities Commission’s California Solar Initiative to provide 3,000 megawatts of solar power — the equivalent of six large natural-gas fired power plants — in the Golden State over 11 years. Kyocera’s assembly plant in Tijuana is ramping up to its 36-megawatt annual production capacity for solar PV modules — fueling what has become Kyocera’s fastest growing global business segment.

“We’re gratified to see it,” says Kyocera spokesman Jay Scovie. “This program is modeled loosely on the German program. That is modeled in turn on the Japanese program, which made Japan No. 1 in the world in the deployment of photovoltaics.” Scovie says Kyocera founder and chair emeritus Kazuo Inamori helped propose the Japanese program.

The PUC will provide $2.8 billion in customer incentives to add solar to existing buildings. The California Energy Commission will provide $400 million in new construction incentives with new funding from electric bill surcharges.