Name:	spi_AssetsHeldForSaleNotPartOfDisposalGroupNoncurrentOther
Namespace Prefix:	spi_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

Project assets costs consist primarily of capitalizable costs for items such as permits and licenses, acquired land or land use rights, and work-in-process.

No definition available.

Name:	spi_ProjectAssets
Namespace Prefix:	spi_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

Amount of assets held-for-sale that are not part of a disposal group, expected to be sold within a year or the normal operating cycle, if longer.

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/exampleRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 852
-SubTopic 10
-Section 55
-Paragraph 10
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=84165509&loc=d3e56426-112766

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 360
-SubTopic 10
-Section 15
-Paragraph 4
-Subparagraph (b)(2)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=123398962&loc=d3e400-110220

Name:	us-gaap_AssetsHeldForSaleNotPartOfDisposalGroupCurrent
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

Amount of other assets held-for-sale that are not part of a disposal group.

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 360
-SubTopic 10
-Section 15
-Paragraph 4
-Subparagraph (b)(2)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=123398962&loc=d3e400-110220

Name:	us-gaap_AssetsHeldForSaleNotPartOfDisposalGroupOther
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

No definition available.