FCC Adds Connected Solar Inverters to Covered List
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- The FCC added foreign-made connected power inverters to its Covered List on July 28, cutting off the federal authorization new models need to be imported, marketed, or sold in the US.
- "Foreign-made" follows the Buy American rule requiring more than 65% US content and US manufacture, so a US brand assembling in Vietnam is covered while a Chinese brand building in the US can clear the bar.
- The order targets any inverter with a radio for remote communication over Wi-Fi, cellular, or Bluetooth — exempting radio-free "dumb" inverters and sweeping in micro, string, hybrid, and battery-based models with connectivity.
- Existing models with FCC grants before July 28 can still be sold, installed, and used, and the order doesn't touch federal purchases; new foreign-made models require Conditional Approval from the Department of Homeland Security or the Department of War by January 1, 2028.
- The action follows a May 2025 Reuters report about undocumented cellular radios in Chinese-made inverters — including one case of remote hardware deactivation from China — and mirrors earlier moves against drones (December 2025) and routers (March 2026).
- Off-grid and portable solar vendors like Bluetti, Victron, EG4, Growatt, Renogy, EcoFlow, and Redarc face the steepest long-term hit given short product cycles and nearly fully offshore supply chains.
- Domestic stocks rallied on the news, with Enphase jumping as much as 17%, SolarEdge around 11%, and Sunrun about 7%, while Tesla traded flat.
Why it matters: Off-grid and portable solar vendors with offshore supply chains face the steepest squeeze from Conditional Approval paperwork a 40-person shop can't absorb, while US-assembling names like Enphase and SolarEdge are the clearest beneficiaries after a 17% and 11% rally respectively. Because grandfathering lets every installed connected inverter keep phoning home, the order blocks new models without addressing the remote-access radios the FCC cited as the original security concern.
