Note 5 - Acquisition of Solar Green Technology	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2013
Mergers, Acquisitions and Dispositions Disclosures [Text Block]	5. Acquisition of Solar Green Technology On June 27, 2012, Solar Power, Inc. entered into an Acquisition and Stock Purchase Agreement dated as of June 25, 2012 (the “SGT Agreement”) with the shareholders of SGT, an Italian-based limited liability company. Under the SGT Agreement, Solar Power, Inc. acquired 100% of the issued and outstanding shares of SGT from SGT shareholders in exchange for 5.0 million Euros (approximately $6.3 million U.S. Dollars) payable in cash and common stock of the Company (the “Purchase Price”). The acquisition of SGT complements the Company’s global growth strategy. The shareholders of SGT consisted of LDK Solar Europe Holding S.A (“LDK Europe”) and the two founders of SGT. LDK Europe, through its 70% ownership of the outstanding common stock of SGT, controlled SGT prior to the close of the transaction. LDK Europe is the wholly owned subsidiary of LDK, which owned approximately 71% of the issued and outstanding common stock of the Company prior to and after the date of the acquisition of SGT. In July 2012, the Company issued 9,771,223 shares of its Common Stock to LDK Europe and 1,814,655 shares of its Common Stock to each of the two founders of SGT. In addition, the Company agreed to pay each of the two founders 100,000 Euros in cash, the payments of which were made in July 2012. The amount of shares of the Company’s Common Stock that were issued under the SGT Agreement were determined by calculating the amount of the Purchase Price payable to each shareholder divided by the daily volume-weighted average price of the Company’s Common Stock for each of the 90 trading days prior to June 11, 2012. Because SGT and Solar Power, Inc. were under the common control of LDK as of the June 27, 2012 acquisition date, the acquisition is treated as a transaction between entities under common control. In accordance with ASC Topic 805, Business Combinations these financial statements reflect the combination of Solar Power, Inc. and SGT’s financial statements for all periods presented under which both entities were under the common control of LDK. The predecessor entity was determined to be SGT due to the fact that SGT was the first entity controlled by LDK. LDK obtained a controlling interest in SGT on July 10, 2009. LDK obtained a controlling interest in Solar Power, Inc. on March 31, 2011. As such, the Company recognized the assets and liabilities of SGT (the accounting receiving entity) at their historical carrying values in accordance with U.S. GAAP and has recast the assets and liabilities of the legacy Solar Power, Inc. entity (the transferring entity) to reflect carrying value of the parent, LDK, which were stepped up to fair value on March 31, 2011 upon LDK obtaining a controlling interest in Solar Power, Inc. Refer to Note 7 —Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets for details of the balances carried by LDK now reflected in the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

Note 5 - Acquisition of Solar Green Technology

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2013

Mergers, Acquisitions and Dispositions Disclosures [Text Block]

5. Acquisition of Solar Green Technology

On June 27, 2012, Solar Power, Inc. entered into an Acquisition and Stock Purchase Agreement dated as of June 25, 2012 (the “SGT Agreement”) with the shareholders of SGT, an Italian-based limited liability company. Under the SGT Agreement, Solar Power, Inc. acquired 100% of the issued and outstanding shares of SGT from SGT shareholders in exchange for 5.0 million Euros (approximately $6.3 million U.S. Dollars) payable in cash and common stock of the Company (the “Purchase Price”). The acquisition of SGT complements the Company’s global growth strategy. The shareholders of SGT consisted of LDK Solar Europe Holding S.A (“LDK Europe”) and the two founders of SGT. LDK Europe, through its 70% ownership of the outstanding common stock of SGT, controlled SGT prior to the close of the transaction. LDK Europe is the wholly owned subsidiary of LDK, which owned approximately 71% of the issued and outstanding common stock of the Company prior to and after the date of the acquisition of SGT. In July 2012, the Company issued 9,771,223 shares of its Common Stock to LDK Europe and 1,814,655 shares of its Common Stock to each of the two founders of SGT. In addition, the Company agreed to pay each of the two founders 100,000 Euros in cash, the payments of which were made in July 2012. The amount of shares of the Company’s Common Stock that were issued under the SGT Agreement were determined by calculating the amount of the Purchase Price payable to each shareholder divided by the daily volume-weighted average price of the Company’s Common Stock for each of the 90 trading days prior to June 11, 2012.

Because SGT and Solar Power, Inc. were under the common control of LDK as of the June 27, 2012 acquisition date, the acquisition is treated as a transaction between entities under common control. In accordance with ASC Topic 805, Business Combinations these financial statements reflect the combination of Solar Power, Inc. and SGT’s financial statements for all periods presented under which both entities were under the common control of LDK. The predecessor entity was determined to be SGT due to the fact that SGT was the first entity controlled by LDK. LDK obtained a controlling interest in SGT on July 10, 2009. LDK obtained a controlling interest in Solar Power, Inc. on March 31, 2011. As such, the Company recognized the assets and liabilities of SGT (the accounting receiving entity) at their historical carrying values in accordance with U.S. GAAP and has recast the assets and liabilities of the legacy Solar Power, Inc. entity (the transferring entity) to reflect carrying value of the parent, LDK, which were stepped up to fair value on March 31, 2011 upon LDK obtaining a controlling interest in Solar Power, Inc. Refer to Note 7 —Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets for details of the balances carried by LDK now reflected in the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.