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Amount, before unamortized (discount) premium and debt issuance costs, of long-term debt. Includes, but is not limited to, notes payable, bonds payable, commercial loans, mortgage loans, convertible debt, subordinated debt and other types of debt.

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Contractual interest rate for funds borrowed, under the debt agreement.

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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.

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Gross amount of debt extinguished.

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Difference between the fair value of payments made and the carrying amount of debt which is extinguished prior to maturity.

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The amount of interest income and other income recognized during the period. Included in this element is interest derived from investments in debt securities, cash and cash equivalents, and other investments which reflect the time value of money or transactions in which the payments are for the use or forbearance of money and other income from ancillary business-related activities (that is, excluding major activities considered part of the normal operations of the business).

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Amount, after unamortized (discount) premium and debt issuance costs, of long-term debt. Includes, but not limited to, notes payable, bonds payable, debentures, mortgage loans and commercial paper. Excludes capital lease obligations.

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The interest rate applicable to the portion of the carrying amount of long-term borrowings outstanding as of the balance sheet date, including current maturities, which accrues interest at a rate subject to change from time to time.

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The portion of the carrying amount of long-term borrowings outstanding as of the balance sheet date, including current maturities, which accrues interest at a set, unchanging rate.

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The portion of the carrying amount of long-term borrowings outstanding as of the balance sheet date, including current maturities, which accrues interest at a rate subject to change from time to time.

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The cash outflow for incremental, external costs directly pertaining to an early extinguishment of debt, including legal costs and prepayment penalties, and excluding interest and repayment of debt principal.

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The cash outflow for debt initially having maturity due after one year or beyond the normal operating cycle, if longer.

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Long-Term Debt - Project-level Debt Narrative (Details) $ in Thousands				1 Months Ended		2 Months Ended	3 Months Ended				9 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Jun. 16, 2016	May 31, 2016	Apr. 21, 2016 power_plant	Jan. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Jan. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2016 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2016 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2015 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2016 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2015 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Sep. 02, 2016
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Project level debt					$ 1,295,761		$ 1,107,954				$ 1,107,954		$ 1,295,761
Repayments of senior debt											35,441	$ 0
Gain (loss) on the extinguishment of debt							(5)			$ (551)	5,730	(1,770)
Interest income							900			$ 0	4,100	$ 0
India PSA
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Acquisition of projects, number of projects with accelerated debt maturities \| power_plant			2
South Africa projects
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Acquisition of projects, number of projects with accelerated debt maturities \| power_plant			3
Permanent financing
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Project level debt							355,479				355,479
Term debt \| Permanent financing
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Project level debt					368,935		355,479				355,479		368,935
Term debt \| Permanent financing \| South Africa
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term debt, amount bearing fixed interest							12,500				12,500
Amount of long term debt outstanding							$ 135,900				$ 135,900
Term debt \| Permanent financing \| South Africa \| Minimum
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term debt, variable interest debt, interest rate							12.30%				12.30%
Term debt \| Permanent financing \| South Africa \| Maximum
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term debt, variable interest debt, interest rate							13.00%				13.00%
Term debt \| Permanent financing \| India
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term debt, amount bearing fixed interest							$ 19,900				$ 19,900
Term debt \| Permanent financing \| India \| Matures in September 2026
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Stated interest rate							4.54%				4.54%
Term debt \| Permanent financing \| India \| Matures in December 2026
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Stated interest rate							12.00%				12.00%
Term debt \| Permanent financing \| Boshof
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Amount of long term debt outstanding							$ 179,500				$ 179,500
Term debt \| Permanent financing \| ESP Urja and Azure \| India
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term debt, amount bearing fixed interest							$ 17,900				$ 17,900
Term debt \| Permanent financing \| ESP Urja and Azure \| India \| Matures in December 2026
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Stated interest rate							4.70%				4.70%
Term debt \| Permanent financing \| India PSA
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Repayments of project-level indebtedness of projects in equity method investment							$ 23,600
Gain (loss) on the extinguishment of debt							0	$ (400)
Term debt \| Permanent financing \| Three-month LIBOR And three-month Johannesburg Interbank agreed rate \| South Africa
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term debt, amount bearing variable interest							315,500				$ 315,500
Term debt \| Permanent financing \| Kuala Lumpur Interbank offered rate \| Malaysia
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term debt, amount bearing variable interest							$ 5,600				$ 5,600
Stated interest rate							4.00%				4.00%
Term debt \| Investor \| Permanent financing \| Silver Star Pavilion and Fortune 11 \| Malaysia
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term debt, amount bearing fixed interest							$ 1,100				$ 1,100
Stated interest rate							4.00%				4.00%
Senior notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Extinguishment of debt, amount						$ 49,600
Senior notes \| 9.75% Senior Notes due 2022
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Project level debt					791,826		$ 752,475				$ 752,475		791,826
Stated interest rate							9.80%				9.80%
Debt repurchase program, authorized amount					40,000								40,000
Extinguishment of debt, amount				$ 41,000	8,600
Repayments of senior debt				33,200	6,800	40,000
Payments of debt extinguishment costs				$ 1,900	$ 400	$ 2,300
Gain (loss) on the extinguishment of debt									$ 6,300
Global Operating LLC \| Senior notes \| 9.75% Senior Notes due 2022
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Amount of long term debt outstanding							$ 752,500				$ 752,500
Stated interest rate														9.75%
Debt instrument, debt covenant, grace period for annual report		60 days
Debt covenant, cure period		90 days
Unspecified foreign currency hedging counterparty
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument, debt covenant, grace period for annual report	120 days
Unspecified foreign currency hedging counterparty \| Global Operating LLC
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt covenant, cure period	30 days
Accounts payable \| Senior notes \| 9.75% Senior Notes due 2022
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Repurchases completed, principal and interest due													$ 400