Consolidated Statements of Operations (USD $)	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014
Revenue
Product revenue	$ 4,067,476us-gaap_SalesRevenueGoodsNet	$ 3,162,327us-gaap_SalesRevenueGoodsNet
Service revenue	5,303,063us-gaap_SalesRevenueServicesNet	2,065,715us-gaap_SalesRevenueServicesNet
Research and development contract revenue	45,000plug_ServiceRevenue	346,399plug_ServiceRevenue
Total revenue	9,415,539us-gaap_Revenues	5,574,441us-gaap_Revenues
Cost of product revenue	3,837,935us-gaap_CostOfGoodsSold	3,444,964us-gaap_CostOfGoodsSold
Cost of service revenue	7,637,863us-gaap_CostOfServices	4,018,382us-gaap_CostOfServices
Cost of research and development contract revenue	51,153	417,917
Research and development expense	2,900,944us-gaap_ResearchAndDevelopmentExpense	1,253,396us-gaap_ResearchAndDevelopmentExpense
Selling, general and administrative expenses	7,140,969	3,252,009
Amortization of intangible assets	(608,444)us-gaap_AmortizationOfIntangibleAssets	(565,944)us-gaap_AmortizationOfIntangibleAssets
Operating loss	(12,761,769)us-gaap_OperatingIncomeLoss	(7,378,171)us-gaap_OperatingIncomeLoss
Interest and other income	31,176us-gaap_InterestAndOtherIncome	45,009us-gaap_InterestAndOtherIncome
Change in fair value of common stock warrant liability	1,768,795	(68,433,468)
Interest and other expense	(90,023)us-gaap_InterestExpenseOther	(90,469)us-gaap_InterestExpenseOther
Net loss attributable to the Company	(11,051,821)us-gaap_NetIncomeLoss	(75,857,099)us-gaap_NetIncomeLoss
Preferred stock dividends declared	(26,030)	(51,909)
Net loss attributable to common shareholders	$ (11,077,851)	$ (75,909,008)
Loss per share:
Basic and diluted (in dollars per share)	$ (0.06)us-gaap_EarningsPerShareBasicAndDiluted	$ (0.57)us-gaap_EarningsPerShareBasicAndDiluted
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding (in shares)	173,365,830	133,750,522

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The aggregate expense charged against earnings to allocate the cost of intangible assets (nonphysical assets not used in production) in a systematic and rational manner to the periods expected to benefit from such assets. As a noncash expense, this element is added back to net income when calculating cash provided by or used in operations using the indirect method.

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The amount of interest income and other income recognized during the period. Included in this element is interest derived from investments in debt securities, cash and cash equivalents, and other investments which reflect the time value of money or transactions in which the payments are for the use or forbearance of money and other income from ancillary business-related activities (that is, excluding major activities considered part of the normal operations of the business).

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Interest expense on all other items not previously classified. For example, includes dividends associated with redeemable preferred stock of a subsidiary that is treated as a liability in the parent's consolidated balance sheet.

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Net income after adjustments for dividends on preferred stock (declared in the period) and/or cumulative preferred stock (accumulated for the period).

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The aggregate costs incurred (1) in a planned search or critical investigation aimed at discovery of new knowledge with the hope that such knowledge will be useful in developing a new product or service, a new process or technique, or in bringing about a significant improvement to an existing product or process; or (2) to translate research findings or other knowledge into a plan or design for a new product or process or for a significant improvement to an existing product or process whether intended for sale or the entity's use, during the reporting period charged to research and development projects, including the costs of developing computer software up to the point in time of achieving technological feasibility, and costs allocated in accounting for a business combination to in-process projects deemed to have no alternative future use.

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Aggregate revenue during the period from the sale of goods in the normal course of business, after deducting returns, allowances and discounts.

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Average number of shares or units issued and outstanding that are used in calculating basic and diluted earnings per share (EPS).

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