Last year in January 2011, the President signed the 2011 National Defense Authorization Act (Pub. L. No. 111-383, Section 846), which included a “Buy American” requirement for photovoltaic devices being purchased by the U.S. Department of Defense (“DoD”). We previously discussed this new requirement in our blog. Twelve months later, the DoD has issued an interim rule to implement this new requirement. See 76 Fed. Reg. 18858 (Dec. 20, 2011). The interim rule appears to be straightforward, implementing exceptions and manufacturing requirements with which most companies are already familiar under the Buy American Act or the Trade Agreements Act, but there is some fine print of which all companies selling photovoltaic devices to the DoD should be aware.

The interim rule includes a new subsection at Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (“DFARS”) 225.7017, as well as a new contract clause at DFARS 252.225-7017, Photovoltaic Devices, and a corresponding certification requirement at DFARS 252.225-7018. Defining its key concepts, the interim rule largely restates the statutory language from Section 846 by defining “covered contracts” and “photovoltaic device.”

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