Commitments and Contingencies - Narrative (Details) $ / shares in Units, ¥ in Millions, shares in Millions								1 Months Ended	2 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	20 Months Ended
	Jul. 31, 2018 CNY (¥)	Jan. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Jul. 14, 2016 USD ($) $ / shares shares	Jun. 03, 2016 USD ($)	Jun. 03, 2016 CNY (¥)	Apr. 12, 2016 USD ($) director	Nov. 05, 2015 claim	Jan. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Jan. 04, 2016 claim	Jun. 30, 2016 CNY (¥)	Mar. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Oct. 07, 2016 USD ($)	Oct. 05, 2016 claim	Jun. 30, 2016 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2016 CNY (¥)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Aug. 31, 2015 power_plant	Aug. 05, 2015 $ / shares	Apr. 30, 2015 power_plant MW
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Deposits for acquisitions														$ 282,101,000		$ 282,101,000
India PSA
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Deposits for acquisitions														231,000,000		231,000,000
BioTherm
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Deposits for acquisitions														51,101,000		$ 51,101,000
Number of projects acquired | power_plant																			3
South Africa | BioTherm
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Capacity of acquired power plants | MW																			32.6
Number of projects acquired | power_plant																	3		3
Fraser v. Wuebbels, Iron Workers Mid-South Pension Fund, et al., Badri, and Patel v. TerraForm Global, Inc. et al
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Number of claims filed | claim									4
Beltran and Pyramid Holdings v. TerraForm Global, Inc. et al.
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Number of claims filed | claim							2
Kingdom Associates, VMT II LLC, and Canyon Capital Advisors LLC v. TerraForm Global, Inc. | Subsequent event
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Number fo claims pending | claim													3
Suzlon Energy (Tianjin) Limited (SETL)
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Payments for settlements award								$ 500,000
Suzlon Energy (Tianjin) Limited (SETL) | Beijing Aliyun Investment Consulting Co. Ltd (Aliyun)
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Payments for settlements award | ¥										¥ 45.0
Amount sought through litigation				$ (7,100,000)	¥ (47.0)
Settlement liability														$ 300,000	¥ 2.0
Renova arbitration
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Share price | $ / shares																		$ 15
Renova arbitration | Subsequent event
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Share price | $ / shares			$ 3.38
Aldridge v. Blackmore
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Number of directors named in litigation | director						4
Scenario, forecast | BioTherm
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Payments to acquire businesses		$ 8,900,000									$ 74,500,000
Scenario, forecast | Suzlon Energy (Tianjin) Limited (SETL) | Beijing Aliyun Investment Consulting Co. Ltd (Aliyun)
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Payments for settlements award | ¥	¥ 2.0
Positive outcome of litigation | SunEdison Bankruptcy Case | Subsequent event
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Amount of damages sought												$ 2,000,000,000.0
Pending litigation | Renova arbitration | Subsequent event
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Loss contingency, number of shares in warranty agreement (in shares) | shares			7
Loss contingency, damages sought, value			$ 250,000,000
Loss contingency, damages sought, value based on number of shares (in shares) | shares			20
Pending litigation | TerraForm Global, Inc. v. SunEdison, Inc, et al. | India PSA
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Amount sought through litigation						$ (231,000,000)