Thanks in part to its Renewable Energy Tax Incentive Program, Arizona has been doing its part to encourage solar energy manufacturers to open shop within its borders. Since January 2010, five solar manufacturing companies have opened facilities in the Phoenix, Arizona area. On Thursday, that number jumped to six.

Power-One, a California-based company that currently accounts for 11 percent of the global photovoltaic (PV) inverter market, announced it will begin making its Aurora brand power inverters in Phoenix as early as October. According to Power-One, the inverters have a 96 percent efficiency level that can reach as high as 99 percent when paired with wind power.

The 120,000-square-foot manufacturing facility will create another 350 jobs within the state — the kinds of jobs Arizona Governor Jan Brewer says are needed to make Arizona a leader within the global solar energy industry:

“Power-One brings the quality jobs I am committed to attracting for Arizonans. Arizona has a dynamic mix of resources, human capital and knowledge assets to optimize any company’s performance. Power-One is one more significant milestone along Arizona’s path toward strengthening our market position in the global solar industry.”

Power-One already has manufacturing plants established in Europe and Canada. Combining those with the Arizona plant, Power-One expects to produce over 4.0 gigawatts (GW) of inverters by the end of the 2010 calendar year. According to Marketwatch, Power-One plans to open a plant in China in the fourth quarter of this fiscal year.