Debt and Capital Lease Obligations (Details) (USD $)	9 Months Ended			1 Months Ended	9 Months Ended		9 Months Ended	1 Months Ended	9 Months Ended					1 Months Ended	9 Months Ended		1 Months Ended									1 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011	Dec. 31, 2011	Aug. 31, 2011 Whitebox Revolving Credit Facility - 11.125%	Sep. 30, 2012 Whitebox Revolving Credit Facility - 11.125%	Dec. 31, 2011 Whitebox Revolving Credit Facility - 11.125%	Sep. 30, 2012 Whitebox Revolving Credit Facility - 11.125% Maximum	Dec. 31, 2009 Senior Secured Notes due December 2014, net of discount-9.75%	Sep. 30, 2012 Senior Secured Notes due December 2014, net of discount-9.75%	Dec. 31, 2011 Senior Secured Notes due December 2014, net of discount-9.75%	Dec. 23, 2009 Senior Secured Notes due December 2014, net of discount-9.75%	Sep. 30, 2012 Capital lease obligations and notes payable from vendor financing arrangements	Dec. 31, 2011 Capital lease obligations and notes payable from vendor financing arrangements	Nov. 30, 2011 Other item	Sep. 30, 2012 Other	Dec. 31, 2011 Other	Mar. 31, 2012 Commitment Letter Avista Financing Parties	Mar. 16, 2012 Commitment Letter Avista Financing Parties	Mar. 16, 2012 Commitment Letter Avista Financing Parties Maximum	Jun. 30, 2012 Commitment Letter Avista Financing Parties Warrant Obligation - At Execution of Agreement	Mar. 16, 2012 Commitment Letter Avista Financing Parties Warrant Obligation - At Execution of Agreement	Sep. 30, 2012 Commitment Letter Avista Financing Parties Warrant Obligation - June 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2012 Commitment Letter Avista Financing Parties Warrant Obligation - June 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012 Commitment Letter Avista Financing Parties Warrant Obligation - September 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012 Commitment Letter Avista Financing Parties Warrant Obligation - December 31, 2012	Mar. 31, 2012 Foreign Avista Notes Avista Financing Parties	Sep. 30, 2012 Foreign Revolving Credit Lines	Dec. 31, 2011 Foreign Revolving Credit Lines
Debt and Capital Lease Obligations
Interest rate (as a percent)					11.125%				9.75%		9.75%
Total debt including current maturities	$ 352,707,000		$ 354,726,000		$ 50,000,000	$ 50,000,000			$ 297,473,000	$ 296,615,000		$ 5,234,000	$ 6,039,000			$ 2,072,000
Less: current portion	(3,061,000)		(4,543,000)
Total, net	349,646,000		350,183,000
Short-term project financing																2,100,000
Mandatorily redeemable preferred stock	60,500,000		53,200,000
Additional debt financing that can be borrowed																			10,000,000
Principal amount of notes to be delivered as a percentage of purchase price																										80.00%
Fee paid	714,000	2,376,000															300,000
Number of shares that can be purchased on exercise of warrants issued in consideration for obligations under debt instrument																					190,000	190,000		190,000	190,000
Cash equivalent value of warrants liability recorded in consideration for obligations under a debt instrument																				300,000			100,000
Warrant obligation																						100,000
Exercise price of warrants (in dollars per share)																		$ 0.01
Closing fee				1,700,000
Advisory fee				4,000,000
Number of shares of common stock issued to lenders for payment of advisory fees				1,041,668
Maximum borrowing capacity under the facility					50,000,000										5,600,000												1,500,000	2,400,000
Unused commitment fee (as a percent)					11.125%
Notes issued in a private placement to institutional buyers								300,000,000
Issue price								294,300,000
Issue price as percentage of principal amount											98.093%
Effective interest rate (as a percent)									11.10%	11.10%
Percentage of the original principal amount of the notes redeemable during each 12-month period before second anniversary (as a percent)							10.00%
Redemption price as percentage of principal amount of notes redeemable during each 12-month period before second anniversary (as a percent)									103.00%
Redemption price as percentage of principal amount at which notes may be required to be repurchased in event of change of control (as a percent)									101.00%
Net book value of the property and equipment acquired	167,362,000		212,636,000									7,600,000	7,900,000
Amount outstanding under the facility																											$ 300,000
Number of subsidiaries in Latin America entering into a short-term project financing line of credit agreement														1
Disbursement fees (as a percent)															3.00%
Variable rate basis															one-month LIBOR
Interest rate margin (as a percent)															8.00%
Effective interest rate (as a percent)															8.22%	8.45%