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Cash received as indemnity.

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Negotiation period.

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The cash outflow associated with the acquisition of all phases of the business. The cash portion only of the acquisition price.

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Period of warranty for materials, construction, fabrication and workmanship.

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Period of warranty for power and product.

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Pretax impairment charge.

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Amount of expense for administrative services provided to the limited liability company (LLC) or limited partnership (LP) by the managing member or general partner, affiliate of managing member or general partner, or affiliate of LLC or LP, for example, but not limited to, salaries, rent, or overhead costs.

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Amount of consideration transferred, consisting of acquisition-date fair value of assets transferred by the acquirer, liabilities incurred by the acquirer, and equity interest issued by the acquirer.

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The aggregate cost of goods produced and sold and services rendered during the reporting period.

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

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Period covered by the long-term purchase commitment, in 'PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format, for example, 'P1Y5M13D' represents the reported fact of one year, five months, and thirteen days.

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Amount of expenses related to the managing member or general partner for management of the day-to-day business functions of the limited liability company (LLC) or limited partnership (LP).

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Including the current and noncurrent portions, aggregate carrying amount of all types of notes payable, as of the balance sheet date, with initial maturities beyond one year or beyond the normal operating cycle, if longer.

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Amount after accumulated depreciation, depletion and amortization of physical assets used in the normal conduct of business to produce goods and services and not intended for resale. Examples include, but are not limited to, land, buildings, machinery and equipment, office equipment, and furniture and fixtures.

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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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Amount of revenue recognized from goods sold, services rendered, insurance premiums, or other activities that constitute an earning process. Includes, but is not limited to, investment and interest income before deduction of interest expense when recognized as a component of revenue, and sales and trading gain (loss).

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Including the current and noncurrent portions, carrying value as of the balance sheet date of subordinated debt (with initial maturities beyond one year or beyond the operating cycle if longer). Subordinated debt places a lender in a lien position behind debt having a higher priority of repayment in liquidation of the entity's assets.

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Related Parties - Additional Information (Details)											1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
Related Parties - Additional Information (Details)	Sep. 28, 2017 USD ($)	Jun. 09, 2017 USD ($)	Feb. 24, 2017 USD ($)	Feb. 13, 2017 MW	Dec. 14, 2016 USD ($)	Nov. 30, 2016 USD ($)	Nov. 11, 2016 USD ($)	Sep. 09, 2016 USD ($)	Jan. 27, 2016 USD ($)	Jan. 22, 2016 USD ($)	Aug. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Aug. 31, 2017 USD ($) MW	Aug. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Aug. 31, 2017 USD ($) MW	Aug. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Jan. 23, 2017 USD ($)	Dec. 02, 2016	Dec. 01, 2016 USD ($)	Nov. 25, 2015 USD ($)
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Power purchase agreement period (in years)														5 years
MW(ac) \| MW												946		946
Annual revenue												$ 27,744,000	$ 26,116,000	$ 54,319,000	$ 46,735,000
Property and equipment, net						$ 720,132,000						719,868,000		719,868,000
Kern Acquisition
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Aggregate purchase price										$ 29,200,000
Business combination capital contribution received from tax equity investor		$ 6,300,000	$ 8,200,000		$ 6,700,000	$ 1,300,000		$ 1,800,000		$ 900,000
El Pelicano Solar Generation Project \| SunPower ROFO Waiver
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
MW(ac) \| MW				100
Maximum \| Kern Acquisition
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Aggregate purchase price									$ 36,700,000
First Solar MSA
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Annual management fee											$ 600,000
SunPower MSA
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Annual management fee											$ 1,100,000
Service Provider
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Management fee expense												400,000	400,000	$ 1,300,000	1,200,000
Affiliated Entity
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Period of warranty for power and product														25 years
Affiliated Entity \| Minimum
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Period of warranty for materials, construction, fabrication and workmanship														2 years
Affiliated Entity \| Maximum
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Period of warranty for materials, construction, fabrication and workmanship														10 years
Leased Solar Energy Systems \| Predecessor
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Cost of operations-SunPower, prior to IPO												1,700,000	1,500,000	$ 5,000,000	3,800,000
OpCo
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Cash received as indemnity												$ 100,000	$ 100,000	$ 100,000	$ 10,000,000
Promissory note issued																			$ 2,000,000.0
Interest rate of promissory note																			1.00%
OpCo \| First Solar ROFO Agreement
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Negotiation period (in days)				45 days
OpCo \| SunPower ROFO Waiver
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Power purchase agreement period (in years)				5 years
OpCo \| Stateline \| First Solar
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Payment to acquire equity method investment							$ 329,500,000
OpCo \| Switch Station Solar Generation Project
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
MW(ac) \| MW												179		179
OpCo \| Cuyama Solar Generation Project
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
MW(ac) \| MW												40		40
OpCo \| California Flats Solar Generation Project
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
MW(ac) \| MW												280		280
Maryland Solar
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Pretax impairment charge																$ 1,510,000,000
Annual revenue														$ 8,000,000
Property and equipment, net												$ 52,000,000		$ 52,000,000
OpCo \| First Solar \| Stateline
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Interest rate of promissory note																	4.00%
OpCo \| Maximum
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Subordinated indebtedness																		$ 50,000,000
Subsequent event \| Kern Acquisition
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Business combination capital contribution received from tax equity investor	$ 4,000,000