Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Schedule of revenue from external customers

Revenues from external customers (including, but not limited to homeowners) for each group of similar products and services is as follows (in thousands):



	Year Ended December 31,
	2018		2017		2016
Customer agreements	$	272,672	$	210,753	$	155,870
Incentives	131,794		23,523		35,756
Customer agreements and incentives	404,466		234,276		191,626

Solar energy systems	186,512		113,953		127,727
Products	169,003		184,313		157,754
Solar energy systems and product sales	355,515		298,266		285,481
Total revenue	$	759,981	$	532,542	$	477,107

Cash and restricted cash

The following table provides a reconciliation of cash, and restricted cash reported within the consolidated balance sheets that sum to the total of the same such amounts shown in the consolidated statement of cash flows. Cash and restricted cash consists of the following (in thousands):



	December 31,
	2018		2017		2016
Cash	$	226,625	$	202,525	$	206,364
Restricted cash, current and long-term	77,774		39,265		17,999
Total	$	304,399	$	241,790	$	224,363

Cash and restricted cash



	December 31,
	2018		2017		2016
Cash	$	226,625	$	202,525	$	206,364
Restricted cash, current and long-term	77,774		39,265		17,999
Total	$	304,399	$	241,790	$	224,363

Accounts receivable, net

Accounts receivable, net consists of the following (in thousands):



	December 31,
	2018			2017
Customer receivables	$	64,180		$	59,263
Other receivables	1,466			1,319
Rebates receivable	3,017			1,442
Allowance for doubtful accounts	(2,228		)	(1,665		)
Total	$	66,435		$	60,359

Schedule of property and equipment depreciation

Property and equipment is depreciated on a straight-line basis over the following periods:



Leasehold improvements		Lesser of 6 years or lease term
Furniture		5 years
Computer hardware and software		3 years
Machinery and equipment		5 years or lease term
Automobiles		Lease term

Property and equipment, net consists of the following (in thousands):



	December 31,
	2018			2017
Machinery and equipment	$	6,888		$	4,126
Leasehold improvements, furniture, and computer hardware	14,755			13,709
Vehicles	55,093			43,413
Computer software	32,768			30,483
Total property and equipment	109,504			91,731
Less: Accumulated depreciation and amortization	(74,611		)	(55,329		)
Total property and equipment, net	$	34,893		$	36,402

Intangible assets, net

Finite-lived intangible assets are initially recorded at fair value and are subsequently presented net of accumulated amortization. Intangible assets are amortized on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives as follows:



Customer relationships		6-10 years
Developed technology		5 years
Trade names		5-8 years

Deferred revenue

The opening balance of deferred revenue was $525.4 million as of December 31, 2016. Deferred revenue consists of the following (in thousands):



	December 31,
	2018		2017
Under Customer Agreements:
Payments received	$	538,926	$	517,544
Financing component balance	37,801		30,736
	576,727		548,280

Under SREC contracts:
Payments received	12,977		14,805
Financing component balance	1,921		1,767
	14,898		16,572

Total	$	591,625	$	564,852

Adoption of new accounting pronouncement

The following table presents the effect of the adoption of Topic 606 and Topic 842 on the Company's condensed consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2017 (in thousands):



	December 31, 2017
	As Reported		Adoption Impact			As Recast

Accounts receivable, net of allowances for doubtful accounts	$	76,198	$	(15,839	)	$	60,359
Solar energy systems, net	3,319,708		(158,138		)	3,161,570
Other assets	37,225		209,239			246,464
Accrued expenses and other liabilities	85,639		11,591			97,230
Deferred revenue, current portion	77,310		(34,701		)	42,609
Deferred grants, current portion	8,269		(76		)	8,193
Pass-through financing obligation, current portion	6,087		(700		)	5,387
Deferred revenue, net of current portion	584,427		(62,184		)	522,243
Deferred grants, net of current portion	228,603		(1,084		)	227,519
Pass-through financing obligation, net of current portion	138,124		(5,301		)	132,823
Other liabilities	13,520		29,223			42,743
Deferred tax liabilities	59,131		23,988			83,119
Redeemable noncontrolling interests	123,737		64			123,801
Additional paid-in capital	684,141		(1,191		)	682,950
Retained earnings	131,959		70,775			202,734
Noncontrolling interests	354,076		4,858			358,934

The following table presents the effect of the adoption of Topic 606 and Topic 842 on the Company's condensed consolidated statement of operations for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 (in thousands except per share amounts):



	December 31, 2017									December 31, 2016
	As Reported			Adoption Impact			As Recast			As Reported			Adoption Impact			As Recast

Revenue: Customer agreements and incentives	$	231,433		$	2,843		$	234,276		$	168,417		$	23,209		$	191,626
Cost of customer agreements and incentives	193,954			(7,519		)	186,435			159,858			(5,614		)	154,244
Sales and marketing	137,115			9,311			146,426			162,781			5,956			168,737
General and administrative	107,420			(20		)	107,400			92,377			39			92,416
Interest expense, net	70,518			21,737			92,255			53,244			20,096			73,340
Income tax expense	32,138			(19,785		)	12,353			35,993			20,270			56,263
Net loss	(286,734		)	(881		)	(287,615		)	(303,301		)	(17,538		)	(320,839		)
Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests and redeemable noncontrolling interests	(411,259		)	(1,845		)	(413,104		)	(394,988		)	(980		)	(395,968		)
Net income attributable to common stockholders	124,525			964			125,489			91,687			(16,558		)	75,129
Basic net income per share attributable to common stockholders	1.18			0.01			1.19			0.90			(0.17		)	0.73
Diluted net income per share attributable to common stockholders	1.15			0.01			1.16			0.87			(0.15		)	0.72

The following table presents the effect of the adoption of Topic 230, Topic 606 and Topic 842 on the Company's condensed consolidated statement of cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 (in thousands):



	December 31, 2017									December 31, 2016
	As Reported			Adoption Impact			As Recast			As Reported			Adoption Impact			As Recast

Net loss	$	(286,734	)	$	(881	)	$	(287,615	)	$	(303,301	)	$	(17,538	)	$	(320,839	)
Net cash used in operating activities	(61,011		)	(35,092		)	(96,103		)	(150,580		)	(49,561		)	(200,141		)
Net cash used in investing activities	(812,327		)	35,008			(777,319		)	(745,112		)	49,310			(695,802		)
Net cash provided by financing activities	869,499			21,350			890,849			898,192			953			899,145
Net change in cash and restricted cash⁽¹⁾	(3,839		)	21,266			17,427			2,500			702			3,202
Cash and restricted cash, beginning of period⁽¹⁾	206,364			17,999			224,363			203,864			17,297			221,161
Cash and restricted cash, end of period⁽¹⁾	202,525			39,265			241,790			206,364			17,999			224,363


⁽¹⁾	Pursuant to Topic 230, restricted cash is included in the recasted balances in the statement of cash flows, as described above. The amounts in the previously reported column include only cash.