Document and Entity Information - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Mar. 10, 2017	Jun. 30, 2015
Document and Entity Information:
Entity Registrant Name	PLUG POWER INC
Document Type	10-K
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2016
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Central Index Key	0001093691
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		191,185,084
Entity Public Float			$ 332,655,420
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY