Carina Energy, a battery energy storage system (BESS) development services firm, has launched a dedicated Foreign Entity of Concern (FEOC) compliance practice to help storage developers meet new regulatory requirements that took effect for all BESS projects beginning construction on or after January 1, 2026.
The compliance requirements carry significant financial consequences. Developers that fail to meet the Material Assistance Cost Ratio (MACR) threshold risk losing the entire base 30% Investment Tax Credit, not just the domestic content adder.
MACR thresholds increase annually from 55% in 2026 to 75% in 2030. Battery cells account for 52% of grid-scale BESS equipment cost under IRS safe harbor methodology, making cell sourcing the most critical compliance variable.
“FEOC compliance is a permitting-adjacent requirement that can stall a project just as effectively as a moratorium or a fire code rejection,” said Malaquias Encarnacion, Managing Director of Carina Energy, in a statement. “We complement the developer’s existing advisors by providing the execution layer so tax counsel can make decisions against a defensible package.”
Carina’s practice includes an OEM screening tool with cell provenance and ownership tracing, a MACR calculator, supplier certification templates, contract language guidance, Beginning of Construction strategy memos, and a documentation retention system.
All materials are validated by external counsel.
Read more here.
