FCC Scales Back Power Inverter Ban, Excludes Inverters That Comply With 45X Tax Guidance

The Federal Communication Commission’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau released a public notice announcing that it has revised its definition of “power inverters” included on the Commission’s “Covered List.”   As described more specifically below, inverters now included on the Covered List are only those that change dc power to ac power that are intended for use to supply common loads and that enable remote communication. 

Inclusion on the “Covered List” means that the equipment or services have been determined to “pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States and safety of United States persons.” Absent a conditional approval from the government, equipment on the Covered List may not be imported, marketed, or sold in the United States.

On July 28, 2026, new foreign-produced power inverters were added to the covered list with the FCC citing cybersecurity risks powered by networked inverters connected to the U.S. power grid. The original definition was expansive, covering all power inverters that met the definition of “foreign-produced.”

The Department of War determined that foreign-produced inverters that are eligible for the section 45X tax credit do not pose the unacceptable security risk identified in the original determination and recommended that they should be removed from the FCC’s Covered List as not “foreign-produced.” Section 45x(c)(1)(C) prevents any ‘eligible component’ (including certain power inverters) from including any property which includes any material assistance from a prohibited foreign entity. In its recommendation to the FCC to update the Covered List, the DoW stated “[T]he One Big Beautiful Bill Act determined that foreign produced power inverters that comply with section 45X should be eligible for a tax credit for domestic production. Therefore, President Trump and the United States Congress determined that such power inverters should be considered domestically-produced.”

In addition, the FCC revised its definition of foreign produced power inverters on the Covered List. The foreign-produced power inverter ban applies only to an electronic device that:

“a) Changes dc power to ac power, to include bidirectional devices, that is intended for use in parallel with an electric utility to supply common loads and sometimes deliver power to the utility, i.e., a utility-interactive inverter as that term is defined in UL 1741 sections 2.1.23, 2.1.52; and 

(b) Contains, or is designed, equipped, or configured to accept, a component that enables remote communication, control, sensing, data-collection, or monitoring through Ethernet, Wi-Fi, cellular, Bluetooth, or other similar connections, whether wired or wireless.”

The FCC updated its FAQ on the updates to the covered list to incorporate the definition change.

Inverter models that already hold FCC equipment authorizations, including those under the updated foreign produced definition, remain authorized.

If you have any questions about the issues raised in this alert, please contact the authors or the Womble Bond Dickinson attorneys with whom you normally work.