Commitments and Contingencies - Narrative (Details) $ / shares in Units, ¥ in Millions												1 Months Ended	2 Months Ended	3 Months Ended			6 Months Ended			12 Months Ended
	Jul. 31, 2018 CNY (¥)	Jul. 21, 2017 USD ($)	Jun. 29, 2017 USD ($) shares	May 26, 2017 USD ($) $ / shares shares	Mar. 27, 2017 USD ($)	Jul. 14, 2016 USD ($) $ / shares shares	Jun. 03, 2016 USD ($)	Jun. 03, 2016 CNY (¥)	Apr. 12, 2016 director	Apr. 03, 2016 USD ($)	Nov. 05, 2015 claim	Jan. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Jan. 04, 2016 claim	Jun. 30, 2017 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2016 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2016 CNY (¥)	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2017 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2016 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Jul. 14, 2016 USD ($) $ / shares	Jun. 30, 2017 CNY (¥)	Oct. 07, 2016 USD ($)	Oct. 05, 2016 claim	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Nov. 20, 2015 power_plant	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		$ 282,101,000
General and administrative														20,366,000	$ 14,225,000			39,335,000	$ 24,409,000
India PSA
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Deposits for acquisitions														231,000,000				231,000,000							$ 231,000,000
BioTherm
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Deposits for acquisitions														51,101,000				51,101,000		51,101,000
Number of projects acquired | power_plant																											3		3
Payments to acquire businesses																		9,700,000
South Africa | BioTherm
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Number of projects acquired | power_plant																											3		3
Capacity of acquired power plants | MW																													32.6
India | India PSA | SunEdison
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Deposits for acquisitions														231,000,000				231,000,000		231,000,000					$ 231,000,000
Number of projects acquired | power_plant																										17
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 awarded to other party							$ 7,100,000	¥ 47.0
Settlement liability														$ 300,000				$ 300,000				¥ 2.0
Renova arbitration
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Amount awarded to other party			$ 15,000,000
Share price (in dollars per share) | $ / shares						$ 3.38															$ 3.38							$ 15
Litigation settlement, number of shares returned from escrow (in shares) | shares			792,495
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.
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Number of claims pending | claim																								3
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																	$ 75,300,000
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 | Renova arbitration
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Litigation settlement, number of shares returned from escrow (in shares) | shares			792,495	792,495
Positive outcome of litigation | SunEdison Bankruptcy Case
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Amount of damages sought																							$ 2,000,000,000.0
Pending litigation | Renova arbitration
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Payments for settlements award			$ 15,000,000
Amount awarded to other party				$ 15,000,000
Loss contingency, number of shares in warranty agreement (in shares) | shares						7,000,000
Loss contingency, damages sought, value						$ 250,000,000
Loss contingency, damages sought, value based on number of shares (in shares) | shares						20,327,499
General and administrative																				$ 3,800,000
Pending litigation | TerraForm Global, Inc. v. SunEdison, Inc, et al.
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Loss contingency, damages sought, value										$ 231,000,000
Directors and officers liability insurance
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Multi-employer insurance policy amount																					$ 150,000,000
Directors and officers liability insurance | Liability insurance policy payment
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Amount of insurance policy payment					$ 32,000,000
Renova | Brookfield affiliate
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Number of company shares sold in settlement agreement (in shares) | shares				19,535,004
Shares purchase price (in dollars per share) | $ / shares				$ 4.75
Consideration received for shares sold				$ 92,791,269
Subsequent event | Aldridge v. Blackmore
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Amount awarded to other party		$ 20,000,000