Licensing Agreement (Details) (Licensing agreements, USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2011	Oct. 26, 2010	Dec. 31, 2010 Assets held for sale	Dec. 31, 2010 Other current liabilities
Indefinite-lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Consideration for the licensing and assets		$ 5	$ 1	$ 1
Consideration subject to maximum reduction		1
Consideration released upon delivery of certain assets	$ 1

Consideration subject to maximum reduction in the event that the Company did not deliver certain of the assets sold.

No definition available.

Name:	plug_ConsiderationSubjectToMaximumReduction
Namespace Prefix:	plug_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant