Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Goodwill	$ 0	$ 5,178,000	[1]
Goodwill impairment charges	5,200,000
Impairment of goodwill	0	0
LDK [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Goodwill	$ 4,700,000

[1] As recast to reflect the balances of Solar Green Technology S.p.A. ("SGT") beginning January 1, 2011 combined with the balances of Solar Power, Inc. beginning March 31, 2011, as required under the accounting guidelines for a transfer of an entity under common control (refer to Note 4-Acquisition of Solar Green Technology).