Variable Interest Entities	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2016
Variable Interest Entities [Abstract]
Variable Interest Entities	Variable Interest Entities (VIEs) In February 2015, the FASB issued an accounting standards update that modified consolidation guidance. The standards update makes changes to both the variable interest entity model and the voting interest entity model, including modifying the evaluation of whether limited partnerships or similar legal entities are VIEs or voting interest entities and amending the guidance for assessing how relationships of related parties affect the consolidation analysis of VIEs. The standards update was effective for NEE and FPL beginning January 1, 2016, and the modified retrospective approach was adopted. The adoption of the standards update did not result in any changes to the previous consolidation conclusions; however, it did result in a limited number of entities being considered VIEs and the related disclosure was provided for the current period. As of December 31, 2016, NEE has thirty-three VIEs which it consolidates and has interests in certain other VIEs which it does not consolidate. FPL - FPL is considered the primary beneficiary of, and therefore consolidates, a VIE that is a wholly owned bankruptcy remote special purpose subsidiary that it formed in 2007 for the sole purpose of issuing storm-recovery bonds pursuant to the securitization provisions of the Florida Statutes and a financing order of the FPSC. FPL is considered the primary beneficiary because FPL has the power to direct the significant activities of the VIE, and its equity investment, which is subordinate to the bondholder's interest in the VIE, is at risk. Storm restoration costs incurred by FPL during 2005 and 2004 exceeded the amount in FPL's funded storm and property insurance reserve, resulting in a storm reserve deficiency. In 2007, the VIE issued $652 million aggregate principal amount of senior secured bonds (storm-recovery bonds), primarily for the after-tax equivalent of the total of FPL's unrecovered balance of the 2004 storm restoration costs, the 2005 storm restoration costs and to reestablish FPL's storm and property insurance reserve. In connection with this financing, net proceeds, after debt issuance costs, to the VIE (approximately $644 million) were used to acquire the storm-recovery property, which includes the right to impose, collect and receive a storm-recovery charge from all customers receiving electric transmission or distribution service from FPL under rate schedules approved by the FPSC or under special contracts, certain other rights and interests that arise under the financing order issued by the FPSC and certain other collateral pledged by the VIE that issued the bonds. The storm-recovery bonds are payable only from and are secured by the storm-recovery property. The bondholders have no recourse to the general credit of FPL. The assets of the VIE were approximately $216 million and $230 million at December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively, and consisted primarily of storm-recovery property, which are included in both current and noncurrent regulatory assets on NEE's and FPL's consolidated balance sheets. The liabilities of the VIE were approximately $214 million and $278 million at December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively, and consisted primarily of storm-recovery bonds, which are included in long-term debt on NEE's and FPL's consolidated balance sheets. FPL entered into a purchased power agreement effective in 1995 with a 330 MW coal-fired facility to purchase substantially all of the facility's capacity and electrical output over a substantial portion of its estimated useful life. The facility is considered a VIE because FPL absorbs a portion of the facility's variability related to changes in the market price of coal through the price it pays per MWh (energy payment). Since FPL does not control the most significant activities of the facility, including operations and maintenance, FPL is not the primary beneficiary and does not consolidate this VIE. The energy payments paid by FPL will fluctuate as coal prices change. This fluctuation does not expose FPL to losses since the energy payments paid by FPL to the facility are recovered through the fuel clause as approved by the FPSC. See Note 13 - Contracts for a discussion of FPL's purchase of the 330 MW coal-fired facility. NEER - NEE consolidates thirty-two NEER VIEs. NEER is considered the primary beneficiary of these VIEs since NEER controls the most significant activities of these VIEs, including operations and maintenance, as well as construction, and has the obligation to absorb expected losses of these VIEs. A subsidiary of NEER is the primary beneficiary of, and therefore consolidates, NEP, which consolidates NEP OpCo because of NEP’s controlling interest in the general partner of NEP OpCo. NEP is a limited partnership formed to acquire, manage and own contracted clean energy projects with stable, long-term cash flows through a limited partner interest in NEP OpCo. NEE owns a controlling non-economic general partner interest in NEP and a limited partner interest in NEP OpCo, and presents NEP's limited partner interest as a noncontrolling interest in NEE's consolidated financial statements. At December 31, 2016, NEE owns common units of NEP OpCo representing noncontrolling interest in NEP’s operating projects of approximately 65.2%. The assets and liabilities of NEP were approximately $7.2 billion and $5.0 billion, respectively, at December 31, 2016, and primarily consisted of property, plant and equipment and long-term debt. A NEER VIE consolidates two entities which own and operate natural gas/oil electric generation facilities with the capability of producing 110 MW. These entities sell their electric output under power sales contracts to a third party, with expiration dates in 2018 and 2020. The power sales contracts provide the offtaker the ability to dispatch the facilities and require the offtaker to absorb the cost of fuel. The entities have third-party debt which is secured by liens against the generation facilities and the other assets of these entities. The debt holders have no recourse to the general credit of NEER for the repayment of debt. The assets and liabilities of the VIE were approximately $95 million and $42 million, respectively, at December 31, 2016 and $84 million and $47 million, respectively, at December 31, 2015, and consisted primarily of property, plant and equipment and long-term debt. Two indirect subsidiaries of NEER each contributed, to a NEP subsidiary, an approximately 50% ownership interest in three entities which own and operate solar PV facilities with the capability of producing a total of approximately 277 MW. Each of the two indirect subsidiaries of NEER is considered a VIE since the non-managing members have no substantive rights over the managing members, and is consolidated by NEER. These three entities sell their electric output to third parties under power sales contracts with expiration dates in 2035 and 2036. The three entities have third-party debt which is secured by liens against the assets of the entities. The debt holders have no recourse to the general credit of NEER for the repayment of debt. The assets and liabilities of these VIEs were approximately $571 million and $487 million, respectively, at December 31, 2016 and $657 million and $626 million, respectively, at December 31, 2015, and consisted primarily of property, plant and equipment and long-term debt. NEER consolidates a special purpose entity that has insufficient equity at risk and is considered a VIE. The entity provided a loan in the form of a note receivable (see Note 4 - Fair Value of Financial Instruments Recorded at Other than Fair Value) to an unrelated third party, and also issued senior secured bonds which are collateralized by the note receivable. The assets and liabilities of the VIE were approximately $502 million and $511 million, respectively, at December 31, 2016, and consisted primarily of notes receivables (included in other investments) and long-term debt. The other twenty-seven NEER VIEs that are consolidated relate to certain subsidiaries which have sold differential membership interests in entities which own and operate wind electric generation and solar PV facilities with the capability of producing a total of approximately 6,847 MW and 374 MW, respectively. These entities sell their electric output either under power sales contracts to third parties with expiration dates ranging from 2018 through 2046 or in the spot market. Certain investors that have no equity at risk in the VIEs hold differential membership interests, which give them the right to receive a portion of the economic attributes of the generation facilities, including certain tax attributes. Certain entities have third-party debt which is secured by liens against the generation facilities and the other assets of these entities or by pledges of NEER's ownership interest in these entities. The debt holders have no recourse to the general credit of NEER for the repayment of debt. The assets and liabilities of these VIEs totaled approximately $10.9 billion and $6.9 billion, respectively, at December 31, 2016. Twenty of the twenty-seven were VIEs at December 31, 2015 and were consolidated; the assets and liabilities of those VIEs totaled approximately $7.6 billion and $5.0 billion, respectively, at December 31, 2015. At December 31, 2016 and 2015, the assets and liabilities of the VIEs consisted primarily of property, plant and equipment, deferral related to differential membership interests and long-term debt. Other - As of December 31, 2016 and 2015, several NEE subsidiaries have investments totaling approximately $2,505 million ($2,049 million at FPL) and $602 million ($476 million at FPL), respectively, which are included in special use funds and other investments on NEE's consolidated balance sheets and in special use funds on FPL's consolidated balance sheets. At December 31, 2016, these investments represented primarily commingled funds, and at December 31, 2015, mortgage-backed securities. NEE subsidiaries, including FPL, are not the primary beneficiary and therefore do not consolidate any of these entities because they do not control any of the ongoing activities of these entities, were not involved in the initial design of these entities and do not have a controlling financial interest in these entities. Certain subsidiaries of NEE have noncontrolling interests in entities accounted for under the equity method. These entities are limited partnerships or similar entity structures in which the limited partners or nonmanaging members do not have substantive rights, and therefore are considered VIEs. NEE is not the primary beneficiary because it does not have a controlling financial interest in these entities, and therefore does not consolidate any of these entities. NEE’s investment in these entities totaled approximately $234 million at December 31, 2016, which are included in other investments on NEE’s consolidated balance sheets. Subsidiaries of NEE have committed to invest an additional approximately $30 million in two of the entities.

Variable Interest Entities (VIEs)

In February 2015, the FASB issued an accounting standards update that modified consolidation guidance. The standards update makes changes to both the variable interest entity model and the voting interest entity model, including modifying the evaluation of whether limited partnerships or similar legal entities are VIEs or voting interest entities and amending the guidance for assessing how relationships of related parties affect the consolidation analysis of VIEs. The standards update was effective for NEE and FPL beginning January 1, 2016, and the modified retrospective approach was adopted. The adoption of the standards update did not result in any changes to the previous consolidation conclusions; however, it did result in a limited number of entities being considered VIEs and the related disclosure was provided for the current period.

As of December 31, 2016, NEE has thirty-three VIEs which it consolidates and has interests in certain other VIEs which it does not consolidate.

FPL - FPL is considered the primary beneficiary of, and therefore consolidates, a VIE that is a wholly owned bankruptcy remote special purpose subsidiary that it formed in 2007 for the sole purpose of issuing storm-recovery bonds pursuant to the securitization provisions of the Florida Statutes and a financing order of the FPSC. FPL is considered the primary beneficiary because FPL has the power to direct the significant activities of the VIE, and its equity investment, which is subordinate to the bondholder's interest in the VIE, is at risk. Storm restoration costs incurred by FPL during 2005 and 2004 exceeded the amount in FPL's funded storm and property insurance reserve, resulting in a storm reserve deficiency. In 2007, the VIE issued $652 million aggregate principal amount of senior secured bonds (storm-recovery bonds), primarily for the after-tax equivalent of the total of FPL's unrecovered balance of the 2004 storm restoration costs, the 2005 storm restoration costs and to reestablish FPL's storm and property insurance reserve. In connection with this financing, net proceeds, after debt issuance costs, to the VIE (approximately $644 million) were used to acquire the storm-recovery property, which includes the right to impose, collect and receive a storm-recovery charge from all customers receiving electric transmission or distribution service from FPL under rate schedules approved by the FPSC or under special contracts, certain other rights and interests that arise under the financing order issued by the FPSC and certain other collateral pledged by the VIE that issued the bonds. The storm-recovery bonds are payable only from and are secured by the storm-recovery property. The bondholders have no recourse to the general credit of FPL. The assets of the VIE were approximately $216 million and $230 million at December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively, and consisted primarily of storm-recovery property, which are included in both current and noncurrent regulatory assets on NEE's and FPL's consolidated balance sheets. The liabilities of the VIE were approximately $214 million and $278 million at December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively, and consisted primarily of storm-recovery bonds, which are included in long-term debt on NEE's and FPL's consolidated balance sheets.

FPL entered into a purchased power agreement effective in 1995 with a 330 MW coal-fired facility to purchase substantially all of the facility's capacity and electrical output over a substantial portion of its estimated useful life. The facility is considered a VIE because FPL absorbs a portion of the facility's variability related to changes in the market price of coal through the price it pays per MWh (energy payment). Since FPL does not control the most significant activities of the facility, including operations and maintenance, FPL is not the primary beneficiary and does not consolidate this VIE. The energy payments paid by FPL will fluctuate as coal prices change. This fluctuation does not expose FPL to losses since the energy payments paid by FPL to the facility are recovered through the fuel clause as approved by the FPSC. See Note 13 - Contracts for a discussion of FPL's purchase of the 330 MW coal-fired facility.

NEER - NEE consolidates thirty-two NEER VIEs. NEER is considered the primary beneficiary of these VIEs since NEER controls the most significant activities of these VIEs, including operations and maintenance, as well as construction, and has the obligation to absorb expected losses of these VIEs.

A subsidiary of NEER is the primary beneficiary of, and therefore consolidates, NEP, which consolidates NEP OpCo because of NEP’s controlling interest in the general partner of NEP OpCo. NEP is a limited partnership formed to acquire, manage and own contracted clean energy projects with stable, long-term cash flows through a limited partner interest in NEP OpCo. NEE owns a controlling non-economic general partner interest in NEP and a limited partner interest in NEP OpCo, and presents NEP's limited partner interest as a noncontrolling interest in NEE's consolidated financial statements. At December 31, 2016, NEE owns common units of NEP OpCo representing noncontrolling interest in NEP’s operating projects of approximately 65.2%. The assets and liabilities of NEP were approximately $7.2 billion and $5.0 billion, respectively, at December 31, 2016, and primarily consisted of property, plant and equipment and long-term debt.

A NEER VIE consolidates two entities which own and operate natural gas/oil electric generation facilities with the capability of producing 110 MW. These entities sell their electric output under power sales contracts to a third party, with expiration dates in 2018 and 2020. The power sales contracts provide the offtaker the ability to dispatch the facilities and require the offtaker to absorb the cost of fuel. The entities have third-party debt which is secured by liens against the generation facilities and the other assets of these entities. The debt holders have no recourse to the general credit of NEER for the repayment of debt. The assets and liabilities of the VIE were approximately $95 million and $42 million, respectively, at December 31, 2016 and $84 million and $47 million, respectively, at December 31, 2015, and consisted primarily of property, plant and equipment and long-term debt.

Two indirect subsidiaries of NEER each contributed, to a NEP subsidiary, an approximately 50% ownership interest in three entities which own and operate solar PV facilities with the capability of producing a total of approximately 277 MW. Each of the two indirect subsidiaries of NEER is considered a VIE since the non-managing members have no substantive rights over the managing members, and is consolidated by NEER. These three entities sell their electric output to third parties under power sales contracts with expiration dates in 2035 and 2036. The three entities have third-party debt which is secured by liens against the assets of the entities. The debt holders have no recourse to the general credit of NEER for the repayment of debt. The assets and liabilities of these VIEs were approximately $571 million and $487 million, respectively, at December 31, 2016 and $657 million and $626 million, respectively, at December 31, 2015, and consisted primarily of property, plant and equipment and long-term debt.

NEER consolidates a special purpose entity that has insufficient equity at risk and is considered a VIE. The entity provided a loan in the form of a note receivable (see Note 4 - Fair Value of Financial Instruments Recorded at Other than Fair Value) to an unrelated third party, and also issued senior secured bonds which are collateralized by the note receivable. The assets and liabilities of the VIE were approximately $502 million and $511 million, respectively, at December 31, 2016, and consisted primarily of notes receivables (included in other investments) and long-term debt.

The other twenty-seven NEER VIEs that are consolidated relate to certain subsidiaries which have sold differential membership interests in entities which own and operate wind electric generation and solar PV facilities with the capability of producing a total of approximately 6,847 MW and 374 MW, respectively. These entities sell their electric output either under power sales contracts to third parties with expiration dates ranging from 2018 through 2046 or in the spot market. Certain investors that have no equity at risk in the VIEs hold differential membership interests, which give them the right to receive a portion of the economic attributes of the generation facilities, including certain tax attributes. Certain entities have third-party debt which is secured by liens against the generation facilities and the other assets of these entities or by pledges of NEER's ownership interest in these entities. The debt holders have no recourse to the general credit of NEER for the repayment of debt. The assets and liabilities of these VIEs totaled approximately $10.9 billion and $6.9 billion, respectively, at December 31, 2016. Twenty of the twenty-seven were VIEs at December 31, 2015 and were consolidated; the assets and liabilities of those VIEs totaled approximately $7.6 billion and $5.0 billion, respectively, at December 31, 2015. At December 31, 2016 and 2015, the assets and liabilities of the VIEs consisted primarily of property, plant and equipment, deferral related to differential membership interests and long-term debt.

Other - As of December 31, 2016 and 2015, several NEE subsidiaries have investments totaling approximately $2,505 million ($2,049 million at FPL) and $602 million ($476 million at FPL), respectively, which are included in special use funds and other investments on NEE's consolidated balance sheets and in special use funds on FPL's consolidated balance sheets. At December 31, 2016, these investments represented primarily commingled funds, and at December 31, 2015, mortgage-backed securities. NEE subsidiaries, including FPL, are not the primary beneficiary and therefore do not consolidate any of these entities because they do not control any of the ongoing activities of these entities, were not involved in the initial design of these entities and do not have a controlling financial interest in these entities.

Certain subsidiaries of NEE have noncontrolling interests in entities accounted for under the equity method. These entities are limited partnerships or similar entity structures in which the limited partners or nonmanaging members do not have substantive rights, and therefore are considered VIEs. NEE is not the primary beneficiary because it does not have a controlling financial interest in these entities, and therefore does not consolidate any of these entities. NEE’s investment in these entities totaled approximately $234 million at December 31, 2016, which are included in other investments on NEE’s consolidated balance sheets. Subsidiaries of NEE have committed to invest an additional approximately $30 million in two of the entities.