Nature of Operations (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2017

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Basis of Presentation, Policy

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with SEC regulations for interim financial information. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and notes required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("U.S. GAAP") for complete financial statements. The financial statements should be read in conjunction with the accounting policies and other disclosures as set forth in the notes to the Company’s annual financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2016, filed with the SEC on Form 10-K on June 15, 2017.

Certain solar power plants in the Company’s current portfolio have been contributed from SunEdison (also referred to as a “dropdown”) and are reflected in the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheets at SunEdison’s historical cost. When power plants are contributed or acquired from SunEdison, the Company is required to recast its historical financial statements to reflect the assets and liabilities of the acquired power plants for the period such power plants were owned by SunEdison in accordance with rules applicable to transactions between entities under common control.

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements represent the results of TerraForm Global, Inc., which consolidates Global LLC through its controlling interest. Corporate expenses represent those costs allocated to the Company under the Management Services Agreement, as more fully described in Note 16 - Related Parties.

In the opinion of management, the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements contain all material adjustments consisting of normal and recurring adjustments necessary to present fairly the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial position as of September 30, 2017, and the results of operations, comprehensive income and cash flows for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016.

Use of Estimates, Policy

Use of Estimates

In preparing the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP, the Company used estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities as of the date of the financial statements. Such estimates also affect the reported amounts of revenues, expenses and cash flows during the reporting period. To the extent there are material differences between the estimates and actual results, the Company's future results of operations would be affected.

Restricted Cash, Policy

Restricted Cash

Restricted cash consists of cash on deposit in financial institutions that is restricted to satisfy the requirements of certain debt, acquisition, and settlement agreements. These restrictions include, as of the balance sheet date: (i) cash on deposit in collateral accounts, debt service reserve accounts, and maintenance reserve accounts; (ii) cash on deposit in operating accounts but subject to distribution restrictions due to debt defaults; and (iii) $50.0 million of insurance proceeds on deposit for settlement of litigation.

New Accounting Standards, Policy

New Accounting Standards

In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, which requires an entity to recognize the amount of revenue to which it expects to be entitled for the transfer of promised goods or services to customers. ASU 2014-09 will replace most existing revenue recognition guidance in U.S. GAAP when it becomes effective. ASU 2014-09 is effective for the Company on January 1, 2018. Early adoption is permitted but not before January 1, 2017. ASU 2014-09 permits the use of either a retrospective or cumulative effect transition method. The Company has not determined which transition method it will adopt, and it is currently evaluating the impact that ASU 2014-09 will have on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures upon adoption. The Company does not plan to adopt this standard prior to January 1, 2018.

In August 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-15, Disclosure of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern, which describes how an entity should assess its ability to meet obligations and sets rules for how this information should be disclosed in the financial statements. ASU 2014-15 provides accounting guidance that will be used along with existing auditing standards. ASU 2014-15 applies to all entities for the first annual period ending after December 15, 2016, and interim periods thereafter. The Company adopted ASU 2014-15 as of January 1, 2017 and this standard did not have a material effect on the Company's consolidated financial statements.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), which primarily changes the lessee’s accounting for operating leases by requiring recognition of lease right-of-use assets and lease liabilities. This standard is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018, with early adoption permitted. The Company is evaluating the effect of the standard on its consolidated financial statements.

In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-05, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815), which clarifies that a change in one of the parties to a derivative contract (through novation) that is part of a hedge accounting relationship does not, by itself, require designation of that relationship, as long as all other hedge accounting criteria continue to be met. This standard is effective for annual and interim periods in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016, with early adoption permitted. The Company evaluated the standard and determined that it did not have a material effect on its consolidated financial statements.

In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-06, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815), which clarifies that determining whether the economic characteristics of a put or call are clearly and closely related to its debt host requires only an assessment of the four-step decision sequence outlined in FASB ASC paragraph 815-15-25-24. Additionally, entities are not required to separately assess whether the contingency itself is clearly and closely related. This standard is effective for annual and interim periods in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, with early adoption permitted. The Company does not expect this standard to have a material effect on its consolidated financial statements.

On March 30, 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-09, Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718), which is intended to improve the accounting for share-based payment transactions as part of the FASB’s simplification initiative. ASU 2016-09 changes seven aspects of the accounting for share-based payment award transactions, including but not limited to: (1) accounting for income taxes; (2) classification of excess tax benefits on the statement of cash flows; (3) forfeitures; (4) minimum statutory tax withholding requirements; and (5) classification of employee taxes paid on the statement of cash flows when an employer withholds shares for tax-withholding purposes. This standard is effective for annual and interim periods in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016, with early adoption permitted. The Company evaluated the standard and determined that it did not have a material effect on its consolidated financial statements.

In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230), Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments. The amendments of ASU 2016-15 were issued to address eight specific cash flow issues for which stakeholders have indicated to the FASB that a diversity in practice existed in how entities were presenting and classifying these items in the statement of cash flows. The issues addressed by ASU 2016-15 include but are not limited to the classification of debt prepayment and debt extinguishment costs, payments made for contingent consideration for a business combination, proceeds from the settlement of insurance proceeds, distributions received from equity method investees and separately identifiable cash flows and the application of the predominance principle. The amendments of ASU 2016-15 are effective for public entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017 and interim periods in those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted, including adoption in an interim fiscal period with all amendments adopted in the same period. The adoption of ASU 2016-15 is required to be applied retrospectively. The Company is evaluating the impact of the standard on its consolidated statements of cash flows.

In October 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-16, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Intra-Entity Transfer of Assets Other Than Inventory, which eliminates the recognition of current and deferred income taxes for an intra-entity asset transfer until the asset has been sold to an outside party exception for an intra-entity transfer of an asset other than inventory. ASU 2016-16 is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017, and for annual periods and interim periods thereafter with early adoption permitted. The Company is evaluating the effect of the standard on its consolidated financial statements.

In October 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-17, Consolidation (Topic 810): Interests Held through Related Parties That Are under Common Control. ASU 2016-17 updates ASU 2015-02. Under the amendments, a single decision maker is not required to consider indirect interests held through related parties that are under common control with the single decision maker to be the equivalent of direct interests in their entirety. Instead, a single decision maker is required to include those interests on a proportionate basis consistent with indirect interests held through other related parties. ASU 2016-17 is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017, and for annual periods and interim periods thereafter with early adoption permitted. The Company is evaluating the effect of the standard on its consolidated financial statements.

In November 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-18, Statement of Cashflows (Topic 320): Restricted Cash a Consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force. The amendments require that a statement of cash flows explain the change during the period in the total of cash, cash equivalents, and amounts generally described as restricted cash or restricted cash equivalents. Therefore, amounts generally described as restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents should be included with cash and cash equivalents when reconciling the beginning-of-period and end-of-period total amounts shown on the statement of cash flows. The amendments in this update do not provide a definition of restricted cash or restricted cash equivalents. ASU 2016-18 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017 and interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company is evaluating the effect of this standard on its consolidated financial statements.

In December 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-19, Technical Corrections and Improvements. The amendments cover a wide range of topics in the Accounting Standards Codification, including differences between original guidance and the Accounting Standards Codification, guidance clarification and reference corrections, simplification and minor improvements. The adoption of ASU 2016-19 is effective for annual periods, including interim periods within those annual periods, beginning after December 15, 2016. The Company evaluated the standard and determined that it did not have a material effect on its consolidated financial statements.

In December 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-20, Technical Corrections and Improvements to Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers. The amendments in this update are of a similar nature to the items typically addressed in the ASU 2016-19, Technical Corrections and Improvements. However, the FASB decided to issue a separate update for technical corrections and improvements to Topic 606 and other Topics amended by ASU 2014-09 to increase stakeholders’ awareness of the proposals and to expedite improvements to ASU 2014-09. The adoption of ASU 2016-20 is effective from the periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim reporting periods within that reporting period. Early adoption is permitted only as of annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim reporting periods within that reporting period. The Company evaluated the standard and determined that it did not have a material effect on its consolidated financial statements.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-01, Business Combinations (Topic 805): Clarifying the Definition of a Business. The amendment seeks to clarify the definition of a business with the objective of adding guidance to assist entities with evaluating whether transactions should be accounted for as acquisitions (or disposals) of assets or businesses. The definition of a business affects many areas of accounting, including acquisitions, disposals, goodwill and consolidation. The adoption of ASU 2017-01 is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those periods. The amendments should be applied prospectively on or after the effective dates. The Company is evaluating the effect of this standard on its consolidated financial statements.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-04, Intangibles-Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment. To simplify the subsequent measurement of goodwill, the FASB eliminated Step 2 from the goodwill impairment test. Under the amendments in this update, an entity should perform its annual, or interim, goodwill impairment test by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount. An entity should recognize an impairment charge for the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the reporting unit’s fair value; however, the loss recognized should not exceed the total amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit. Additionally, an entity should consider income tax effects from any tax deductible goodwill on the carrying amount of the reporting unit when measuring the goodwill impairment loss, if applicable. The standard will be applied prospectively and is effective for annual and interim impairment tests performed in periods beginning after December 15, 2019. The Company is evaluating the effect of this standard on its consolidated financial statements.

In May 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-09, Compensation-Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Scope of Modification Accounting. The amendment clarifies when changes to the terms or conditions of a share-based payment award must be accounted for as modifications. The new guidance is expected to reduce diversity in practice and result in fewer changes to the terms of an award being accounted for as modifications. Changes that do not impact the award’s fair value, vesting conditions, or classification as an equity or liability instrument will not to be assessed modification accounting. The guidance is effective for annual periods, and interim periods within those annual periods, beginning after December 15, 2017. The Company is evaluating the effect of this standard on its consolidated financial statements.

In August 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-12, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities. The objective of the amendment is to improve the financial reporting of hedging relationships to better portray the economic results of an entity’s risk management activities in its financial statements. In addition to that main objective, the amendments make certain targeted improvements to simplify the application of the hedge accounting guidance in current U.S. GAAP based on the feedback received from preparers, auditors, users, and other stakeholders. The guidance is effective for annual periods, and interim periods within those annual periods, beginning after December 15, 2018. The Company is evaluating the effect of this standard on its consolidated financial statements.