Trump Emergency Order Puts Foreign Grid Hardware Under National Security Review

President Donald Trump has signed an emergency executive order targeting imports of critical electricity infrastructure components from countries subject to US arms embargoes or sanctions, with China as the primary focus. The measure extends earlier Federal Communications Commission restrictions on foreign-made inverters to cover high-voltage transformers and grid-scale stationary storage units, along with other equipment.

The order applies to hardware connecting to transmission lines operating at 69 kilovolts or above and encompasses 24 sanctioned or embargoed nations. Purchases will not be blocked immediately: the Department of Energy has 120 days to publish implementing rules and must formally designate specific products as unacceptable national security risks before any transaction is halted. The underlying concern is the potential for cyberattacks and unauthorized remote access to power infrastructure.

Exactly how DOE will carry out the mandate remains unclear. Legal firm Norton Rose Fulbright suggested the agency “may choose to issue a whitelist of pre-qualified equipment and vendors, or establish a licensing process.” Alternatively, DOE could take a harder line and order the isolation, monitoring, or removal of affected hardware already installed in the field.

A similar order issued in 2020 was never fully enforced. That precedent led some lenders to shift financial liability for non-compliant equipment onto project developers — clauses that may still be embedded in active financing agreements.

The directive adds to an existing stack of trade barriers facing clean energy developers, including anti-dumping duties and foreign-entity-of-concern restrictions, further complicating efforts to expand renewable capacity across the country.

Source: PV-Tech