Debt and Credit Sources (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended					1 Months Ended		3 Months Ended					3 Months Ended					3 Months Ended		12 Months Ended										3 Months Ended																3 Months Ended										0 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013	Apr. 01, 2012		Dec. 30, 2012	Jan. 01, 2012	Feb. 28, 2012 Total [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 Total [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 Bond Hedge [Member]		Jul. 01, 2012 Bond Hedge [Member]	Dec. 30, 2012 Bond Hedge [Member]		Mar. 31, 2013 Embedded Cash Conversion Option [Member]	Apr. 01, 2012 Embedded Cash Conversion Option [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 Convertible Debt [Member]	Dec. 30, 2012 Convertible Debt [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 4.50% Debentures [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 4.50% Debentures [Member] Bond Hedge [Member]		Dec. 30, 2012 4.50% Debentures [Member] Bond Hedge [Member]		Dec. 30, 2012 4.50% Debentures [Member] Embedded Cash Conversion Option [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 4.50% Debentures [Member] Convertible Debt [Member]	Dec. 30, 2012 4.50% Debentures [Member] Convertible Debt [Member]	Apr. 01, 2010 4.50% Debentures [Member] Convertible Debt [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 4.75% Debentures [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 4.75% Debentures [Member] Convertible Debt [Member]	Dec. 30, 2012 4.75% Debentures [Member] Convertible Debt [Member]	May 31, 2009 4.75% Debentures [Member] Convertible Debt [Member]	Jan. 01, 2012 4.75% Debentures [Member] Convertible Debt [Member] Minimum [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 IFC Mortgage Loan [Member]	Dec. 30, 2012 IFC Mortgage Loan [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 IFC Mortgage Loan [Member] Mortgages [Member]	Dec. 30, 2012 IFC Mortgage Loan [Member] Mortgages [Member]	May 06, 2010 IFC Mortgage Loan [Member] Mortgages [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 IFC Mortgage Loan [Member] Total [Member]	Dec. 30, 2012 IFC Mortgage Loan [Member] Total [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 CEDA Loan [Member] Loans Payable [Member]	Dec. 30, 2012 CEDA Loan [Member] Loans Payable [Member]	Jun. 30, 2011 CEDA Loan [Member] Loans Payable [Member]	Dec. 29, 2010 CEDA Loan [Member] Loans Payable [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 Deutsche Bank Letter of Credit Facility August 2011 [Member] Letter of Credit [Member]	Dec. 30, 2012 Deutsche Bank Letter of Credit Facility August 2011 [Member] Letter of Credit [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 Deutsche Bank Trust [Member] Letter of Credit [Member]	Dec. 30, 2012 Deutsche Bank Trust [Member] Letter of Credit [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 Credit Agricole Revolving Credit Facility [Member] Line of Credit [Member]	Dec. 30, 2012 Credit Agricole Revolving Credit Facility [Member] Line of Credit [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 Tenesol Other Long-term Debt [Member]		Dec. 30, 2012 Tenesol Other Long-term Debt [Member]		Mar. 31, 2013 Other Long-term Debt [Member]		Dec. 30, 2012 Other Long-term Debt [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 Combined Other Long-term Debt [Member]	Feb. 16, 2012 1.25% Debentures [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 1.25% Debentures [Member]	Jan. 01, 2012 1.25% Debentures [Member] Convertible Debt [Member]	Feb. 28, 2007 1.25% Debentures [Member] Convertible Debt [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 0.75% Debentures [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 0.75% Debentures [Member] Convertible Debt [Member]	Dec. 30, 2012 0.75% Debentures [Member] Convertible Debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Short-term Debt																															$ 15,000,000	$ 12,500,000																				$ 74,000		$ 134,000
Long-term Debt																																	55,000,000	62,500,000				30,000,000	30,000,000													25,281,000		1,234,000
Maturities of Long-term Debt [Abstract]
2013	7,574,000																						0				0						7,500,000					0								0						74,000	[1]								0
2014	346,137,000																						0				230,000,000						15,000,000					0								100,000,000	275,000,000					1,137,000	[1]								0
2016	15,975,000																						0				0						15,000,000					0								0						975,000	[1]								0
2017	15,952,000																						0				0						15,000,000					0								0						952,000	[1]								0
Beyond 2017	53,642,000																						0				0						2,500,000					30,000,000								0						21,142,000	[1]								0
Carrying Value															442,710,000	438,629,000							212,631,000	208,550,000			230,000,000	230,000,000																																	79,000	79,000
Fair Value															480,327,000	447,789,000							250,823,000	228,750,000			229,425,000	218,960,000																																	79,000	79,000
Gain (loss) on mark-to-market derivatives	0	13,000	[2]
Debt Instrument, Convertible, Conversion Price																		22.53	[3]	22.53	[3]	22.53								26.40
Option Indexed to Issuer's Equity, Indexed Shares								11,100,000																					8,700,000
Repayments of Long-term Debt																																																								199,800,000
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage																	4.50%									4.75%														8.50%																	1.25%			0.75%
Own-share Lending Arrangement, Shares, Outstanding					1,800,000
Debt Instrument, Maximum Borrowing Amount																																			75,000,000
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents																																	9,200,000	6,400,000				3,000,000
Own-share Lending Arrangement, Shares, Outstanding, Value					11,200,000
Stock price								$ 11.54	[3]		$ 5.49	[3]
Long-term debt	116,638,000			375,661,000
Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity																																												200,000,000			275,000,000
Line of Credit Facility, Basis Spread																																														0.60%
Line of Credit Facility, Amount Outstanding																																										703,300,000	725,300,000	1,800,000	17,500,000
Letters of Credit Outstanding, Amount	32,000,000
Letter of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity, 2012																																											725,000,000
Letter of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity, 2013																																											771,000,000
Letter of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity, 2014																																											878,000,000
Letter of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity, 2015																																											936,000,000
Letter of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity, 2016																																											1,000,000,000
Debt Instrument, Basis Spread on Variable Rate																																			3.00%
Liquidity Support Facility, Available Capacity							325,000,000
Debt Instrument, Commitment Fee																																			0.50%
Debt Instrument, Borrowing Fee, Percent of Principal																																			1.00%
Debt Instrument, Prepayment Premium																																			1.00%
Line of Credit Facility, Basis Spread on Base Loan Rate																																														0.25%
Line of Credit Facility, Basis Spread on Federal Funds Rate																																														0.50%
Line of Credit Facility, Basis Spread on LIBOR Rate																																														1.00%
Debt Instrument, Basis Spread on Variable Rate, Period Two																																			4.25%
debt instruments, basis spread on variable rate, period three																																			5.00%
Debt, Long-term and Short-term, Combined Amount	705,434,000														480,079,000	480,079,000							250,000,000	250,000,000	250,000,000		230,000,000	230,000,000					70,000,000								30,000,000					100,000,000						25,355,000						198,600,000	200,000,000		79,000	79,000
Embedded Derivative, Gain (Loss) on Embedded Derivative, Net								11,600,000		1,600,000			(11,600,000)	(1,600,000)
Liquidity Support Agreement, Maximum Capacity							600,000,000
Liquidity Support Agreement, Unrestricted Cash, Cash Equivalents and Unused Borrowing Capacity, Threshold for Liquidity Support						100,000,000	100,000,000
Liquidity Support Facility, Warrant Issued, Number of Common Stock Shares						9,531,677
Liquidity Support Facility, Warrant Issued, Exercise Price Per Share						$ 7.8685
Line of Credit Facility, Unused Capacity, Commitment Fee Percentage																																														0.06%
Proceeds from issuance of project loans, net of issuance costs	24,061,000	0	[2]
Debt, Long-term and Short-term, Combined Amount																																	$ 70,000,000			$ 70,000,000	$ 75,000,000											$ 1,000,000	[1]	$ 1,100,000	[1]			$ 1,368,000	$ 300,000

[1] The balance of Other debt excludes payments related to capital leases which are disclosed in Note 7. "Commitments and Contingencies" to these condensed consolidated financial statements.

[2] As adjusted to conform to the current period presentation for solar power systems leased and to be leased (see Note 1)

[3] The valuation model utilizes these inputs to value the right but not the obligation to purchase one share at $22.53. The Company utilized a Black-Scholes valuation model to value the 4.50% Bond Hedge and embedded cash conversion option. The underlying input assumptions were determined as follows:(i)Stock price. The closing price of the Company's common stock on the last trading day of the quarter.(ii)Exercise price. The exercise price of the 4.50% Bond Hedge and the embedded cash conversion option.(iii)Interest rate. The Treasury Strip rate associated with the life of the 4.50% Bond Hedge and the embedded cash conversion option.(iv)Stock volatility. The volatility of the Company's common stock over the life of the 4.50% Bond Hedge and the embedded cash conversion option.(v)Credit risk adjustment. Represents the weighted average of the credit default swap rate of the counterparties.