Convertible and Long-term Debt Obligations - Summary of Debt (Detail)	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Unpaid Principal Balance	$ 7,511,760
Net Carrying Value, Current	1,114,652
Net Carrying Value, Long - Term	5,892,016
Unused Committed Amount	858,959
Recourse debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Unpaid Principal Balance	5,102,844
Net Carrying Value, Current	761,293
Net Carrying Value, Long - Term	3,869,594
Unused Committed Amount	205,305
Non-recourse debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Unpaid Principal Balance	2,408,916
Net Carrying Value, Current	353,359
Net Carrying Value, Long - Term	2,022,422
Unused Committed Amount	653,654
1.5% Convertible Senior Notes due in 2018 [Member] \| Recourse debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Unpaid Principal Balance	205,013
Net Carrying Value, Current	$ 196,229
Interest Rate	1.50%
Maturity Dates	Jun. 30, 2018
0.25% Convertible Senior Notes due in 2019 [Member] \| Recourse debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Unpaid Principal Balance	$ 920,000
Net Carrying Value, Long - Term	$ 827,620
Interest Rate	0.25%
Maturity Dates	Mar. 31, 2019
1.25% Convertible Senior Notes due in 2021 [Member] \| Recourse debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Unpaid Principal Balance	$ 1,380,000
Net Carrying Value, Long - Term	$ 1,132,029
Interest Rate	1.25%
Maturity Dates	Mar. 31, 2021
Credit Agreement [Member] \| Recourse debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Unpaid Principal Balance	$ 969,000
Net Carrying Value, Long - Term	969,000
Unused Committed Amount	$ 181,000
Maturity Dates	Jun. 30, 2020
Vehicle and Other Loans [Member] \| Recourse debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Unpaid Principal Balance	$ 23,771
Net Carrying Value, Current	17,235
Net Carrying Value, Long - Term	$ 6,536
Maturity Date, Start	Mar. 31, 2017
Maturity Date, End	Jun. 30, 2019
2.75% Convertible Senior Notes due in 2018 [Member] \| Recourse debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Unpaid Principal Balance	$ 230,000
Net Carrying Value, Long - Term	$ 212,223
Interest Rate	2.80%
Maturity Dates	Nov. 30, 2018
1.625% Convertible Senior Notes due in 2019 [Member] \| Recourse debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Unpaid Principal Balance	$ 566,000
Net Carrying Value, Long - Term	$ 483,820
Interest Rate	1.60%
Maturity Dates	Nov. 30, 2019
Zero-coupon Convertible Senior Notes due in 2020 [Member] \| Recourse debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Unpaid Principal Balance	$ 113,000
Net Carrying Value, Long - Term	$ 89,418
Interest Rate	0.00%
Maturity Dates	Dec. 31, 2020
Solar Bonds [Member] \| Recourse debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Unpaid Principal Balance	$ 332,060
Net Carrying Value, Current	181,582
Net Carrying Value, Long - Term	$ 148,948
Maturity Date, Start	Oct. 31, 2016
Maturity Date, End	Jan. 31, 2031
Warehouse Agreement [Member] \| Non-recourse debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Unpaid Principal Balance	$ 390,000
Net Carrying Value, Current	73,708
Net Carrying Value, Long - Term	316,292
Unused Committed Amount	$ 210,000
Maturity Dates	Sep. 30, 2018
Canada Credit Facility [Member] \| Non-recourse debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Unpaid Principal Balance	$ 67,342
Net Carrying Value, Current	18,489
Net Carrying Value, Long - Term	$ 48,853
Maturity Dates	Dec. 31, 2020
Term Loan due in December 2017 [Member] \| Non-recourse debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Unpaid Principal Balance	$ 75,467
Net Carrying Value, Current	75,715
Unused Committed Amount	$ 52,173
Interest Rate	4.20%
Maturity Dates	Dec. 31, 2017
Term Loan due in January 2021 [Member] \| Non-recourse debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Unpaid Principal Balance	$ 183,388
Net Carrying Value, Current	5,860
Net Carrying Value, Long - Term	$ 176,169
Interest Rate	4.50%
Maturity Dates	Jan. 31, 2021
MyPower Revolving Credit Facility [Member] \| Non-recourse debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Unpaid Principal Balance	$ 133,762
Net Carrying Value, Current	133,827
Unused Committed Amount	$ 56,238
Maturity Dates	Jan. 31, 2017
Revolving Aggregation Credit Facility [Member] \| Non-recourse debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Unpaid Principal Balance	$ 424,757
Net Carrying Value, Long - Term	427,944
Unused Committed Amount	$ 335,243
Maturity Dates	Dec. 31, 2018
Solar Renewable Energy Credit Term Loan [Member] \| Non-recourse debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Unpaid Principal Balance	$ 38,124
Net Carrying Value, Current	12,491
Net Carrying Value, Long - Term	$ 26,262
Maturity Date, Start	Apr. 30, 2017
Maturity Date, End	Jul. 31, 2021
Cash Equity Debt I [Member] \| Non-recourse debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Unpaid Principal Balance	$ 119,753
Net Carrying Value, Current	3,272
Net Carrying Value, Long - Term	$ 115,464
Interest Rate	5.70%
Maturity Dates	Jul. 31, 2033
Cash Equity Debt II [Member] \| Non-recourse debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Unpaid Principal Balance	$ 206,901
Net Carrying Value, Current	5,376
Net Carrying Value, Long - Term	$ 189,424
Interest Rate	5.30%
Maturity Dates	Jul. 31, 2034
Cash Equity Debt III [Member] \| Non-recourse debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Unpaid Principal Balance	$ 170,000
Net Carrying Value, Current	4,994
Net Carrying Value, Long - Term	$ 161,853
Interest Rate	5.80%
Maturity Dates	Jan. 31, 2035
Solar Asset-backed Notes, Series 2013-1 [Member] \| Non-recourse debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Unpaid Principal Balance	$ 41,899
Net Carrying Value, Current	3,329
Net Carrying Value, Long - Term	$ 38,346
Interest Rate	4.80%
Maturity Dates	Nov. 30, 2038
Solar Asset-backed Notes, Series 2014-1 [Member] \| Non-recourse debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Unpaid Principal Balance	$ 60,768
Net Carrying Value, Current	3,016
Net Carrying Value, Long - Term	$ 57,417
Interest Rate	4.60%
Maturity Dates	Apr. 30, 2044
Minimum [Member] \| Vehicle and Other Loans [Member] \| Recourse debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest Rate	2.90%
Minimum [Member] \| Solar Bonds [Member] \| Recourse debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest Rate	1.10%
Minimum [Member] \| Canada Credit Facility [Member] \| Non-recourse debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest Rate	3.60%
Minimum [Member] \| MyPower Revolving Credit Facility [Member] \| Non-recourse debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest Rate	4.10%
Minimum [Member] \| Revolving Aggregation Credit Facility [Member] \| Non-recourse debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest Rate	3.80%
Minimum [Member] \| Solar Renewable Energy Credit Term Loan [Member] \| Non-recourse debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest Rate	6.60%
Maximum [Member] \| Vehicle and Other Loans [Member] \| Recourse debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest Rate	7.60%
Maximum [Member] \| Solar Bonds [Member] \| Recourse debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest Rate	6.50%
Maximum [Member] \| Canada Credit Facility [Member] \| Non-recourse debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest Rate	4.50%
Maximum [Member] \| MyPower Revolving Credit Facility [Member] \| Non-recourse debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest Rate	6.60%
Maximum [Member] \| Revolving Aggregation Credit Facility [Member] \| Non-recourse debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest Rate	4.40%
Maximum [Member] \| Solar Renewable Energy Credit Term Loan [Member] \| Non-recourse debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest Rate	9.90%
Class A [Member] \| Solar Asset-backed Notes, Series 2014-2 [Member] \| Non-recourse debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Unpaid Principal Balance	$ 186,851
Net Carrying Value, Current	7,055
Net Carrying Value, Long - Term	$ 173,625
Interest Rate	4.00%
Maturity Dates	Jul. 31, 2044
Class A [Member] \| Solar Asset-backed Notes, Series 2015-1 [Member] \| Non-recourse debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Unpaid Principal Balance	$ 119,199
Net Carrying Value, Current	1,511
Net Carrying Value, Long - Term	$ 110,238
Interest Rate	4.20%
Maturity Dates	Aug. 31, 2045
Class A [Member] \| Solar Asset-backed Notes, Series 2016-1 [Member] \| Non-recourse debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Unpaid Principal Balance	$ 50,119
Net Carrying Value, Current	1,202
Net Carrying Value, Long - Term	$ 47,025
Interest Rate	5.30%
Maturity Dates	Sep. 30, 2046
Class A [Member] \| Solar Loan-backed Notes, Series 2016-A [Member] \| Non-recourse debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Unpaid Principal Balance	$ 140,586
Net Carrying Value, Current	3,514
Net Carrying Value, Long - Term	$ 133,510
Interest Rate	4.80%
Maturity Dates	Sep. 30, 2048
Class B [Member] \| Solar Asset-backed Notes, Series 2014-2 [Member] \| Non-recourse debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest Rate	5.40%
Class B [Member] \| Solar Asset-backed Notes, Series 2015-1 [Member] \| Non-recourse debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest Rate	5.60%
Class B [Member] \| Solar Asset-backed Notes, Series 2016-1 [Member] \| Non-recourse debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest Rate	7.50%
Class B [Member] \| Solar Loan-backed Notes, Series 2016-A [Member] \| Non-recourse debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest Rate	6.90%
Secured Revolving Credit Facility [Member] \| Recourse debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Unpaid Principal Balance	$ 364,000
Net Carrying Value, Current	366,247
Unused Committed Amount	$ 24,305
Maturity Date, Start	Jan. 31, 2017
Maturity Date, End	Dec. 31, 2017
Secured Revolving Credit Facility [Member] \| Minimum [Member] \| Recourse debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest Rate	4.00%
Secured Revolving Credit Facility [Member] \| Maximum [Member] \| Recourse debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest Rate	6.00%

Amount of short-term debt and current maturity of long-term debt and capital lease obligations due within one year or the normal operating cycle, if longer.

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- Definition

Amount, before unamortized (discount) premium and debt issuance costs, of long-term debt. Includes, but is not limited to, notes payable, bonds payable, commercial loans, mortgage loans, convertible debt, subordinated debt and other types of debt.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 210
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02(22))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 944
-SubTopic 210
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.7-03(16))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6879938&loc=d3e572229-122910

Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 942
-SubTopic 210
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.9-03(16))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6876686&loc=d3e534808-122878

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- Definition

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

+ References

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- Definition

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.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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- Definition

Date when the debt instrument is scheduled to be fully repaid, in CCYY-MM-DD format.

+ References

+ Details

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- Definition

Latest date the outstanding debt instruments are required to be repaid, in CCYY-MM-DD format.

+ References

+ Details

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Earliest date the outstanding debt instruments are required to be repaid, in CCYY-MM-DD format.

+ References

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- Definition

Amount of unused borrowing capacity under the long-term financing arrangement that is available to the entity as of the balance sheet date.

+ References

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- Definition

Amount, after unamortized (discount) premium and debt issuance costs, of long-term debt. Includes, but not limited to, notes payable, bonds payable, debentures, mortgage loans and commercial paper. Excludes capital lease obligations.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 944
-SubTopic 210
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.7-03(a)(16))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6879938&loc=d3e572229-122910

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 942
-SubTopic 210
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.9-03(16))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6876686&loc=d3e534808-122878

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-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 210
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02(22))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682

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