If all planned solar inverter manufacturing expansion projects are completed, domestic companies will be able to meet the demand under the FCC's ban on new foreign inverter products. It is expected that over 100 gigawatts of new solar inverter manufacturing projects will commence production before 2028.

The FCC's intent here is clear. The U.S. government believes that reliance on foreign inverters poses a national security risk, citing both cybersecurity and economic concerns.  Joe Shangro, a research analyst at Wood Mackenzie, stated, "However, the current definition of 'power inverters' in the ban focuses on wireless communication, leaving the scope of its applicability in question—particularly for utility-scale central inverters operating via wired connections."  "Future guidance from the FCC will be crucial to understanding the full scope of the ban. Leading manufacturers are informing customers that their products do not fall under the ban's purview, while project owners worry that their existing inverters may be blocked from receiving critical firmware updates.". ”

Wood Mackenzie found that over 90% of the 200 gigawatts of photovoltaic inverters deployed in commercial and large-scale solar projects in the U.S. came from China and other East Asian regions. Chinese-made inverters accounted for 50% of the U.S. inverter market share in 2024 and 2025. In the short term, the company anticipates that domestic inverters will cost more than imported products due to labor and manufacturing expenses. However, with the exit of 45X and intensified inverter competition, these costs may stabilize.

"The domestic price premium for inverters is a factor that project owners must consider. However, it not only provides supply chain certainty to avoid the impact of this FCC ban but also addresses any future policies that may further restrict imports," Shangraw stated. "If this proves to be a significant market shift, the U.S. is now better positioned than ever to meet new domestic demand. We forecast that by the end of 2027, the domestic PV/PCS inverter manufacturing market will be capable of supplying over 100 gigawatts of AC capacity."