Balance Sheet Components (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended			12 Months Ended
	Apr. 01, 2012		Apr. 03, 2011	Jan. 01, 2012
Accounts receivable, net:
Accounts receivable, gross	$ 381,056,000			$ 468,320,000
Accounts receivable, net	348,068,000			438,633,000	[1]
Inventories:
Raw materials	89,363,000			78,050,000
Work-in-process	100,963,000			79,397,000
Finished goods	325,580,000			288,054,000
Inventories, net	515,906,000			445,501,000	[1]
Prepaid expenses and other current assets:
VAT receivables, current portion	101,513,000			68,993,000
Foreign currency derivatives	10,995,000			34,422,000
Income tax receivable	12,408,000			19,541,000
Deferred project costs	262,741,000			183,789,000
Other current assets	27,278,000			20,006,000
Other receivables	109,755,000	[2]		146,135,000	[2]
Other prepaid expenses	36,736,000			29,993,000
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	561,426,000	[3]		502,879,000	[1],[3]
Project assets - plant and land:
Project assets - plant	93,455,000			31,469,000
Project assets - land	4,661,000			27,388,000
Project assets - plant and land, net	98,116,000			58,857,000
Project assets - plants and land, current portion	57,130,000			24,243,000	[1]
Project assets - plants and land, net of current portion	40,986,000			34,614,000	[1]
Property, plant and equipment, net:
Property, Plant and Equipment, Gross	1,078,763,000			1,026,103,000
Less: accumulated depreciation	(426,883,000)	[4]		(397,334,000)	[4]
Property, plant and equipment, net	651,880,000	[5]		628,769,000	[1],[5]
Collateralized equipment	19,800,000			21,100,000
Depreciation expense	29,071,000		25,697,000
Interest expense:
Interest cost incurred	(19,631,000)		(16,451,000)
Cash interest cost capitalized - property, plant and equipment	288,000		330,000
Non-cash interest cost capitalized - property, plant and equipment	133,000		249,000
Cash interest cost capitalized - project assets - plant and land	278,000		364,000
Non-cash interest cost capitalized - project assets - plant and land	231,000		249,000
Interest expense	(18,701,000)		(15,259,000)	(67,253,000)
Other long-term assets:
Investments in joint ventures	112,532,000			129,929,000
Bond hedge derivative	2,425,000			840,000
Investments in non-public companies	4,918,000			4,918,000
VAT receivables, net of current portion	6,207,000			6,020,000
Long-term debt issuance costs	59,973,000			10,734,000
Other	41,157,000			24,380,000
Other long-term assets	227,212,000	[3]		176,821,000	[1],[3]
Accrued liabilities:
VAT payables	9,233,000			47,034,000
Foreign currency derivatives	7,349,000			14,935,000
Short-term warranty reserves	14,983,000			15,034,000
Interest payable	7,455,000			7,288,000
Deferred revenue	18,326,000			48,115,000
Employee compensation and employee benefits	33,293,000			35,375,000
Restructuring liability	3,290,000			6,324,000
Other	98,689,000			81,623,000
Accrued liabilities, current	189,328,000			249,404,000	[1]
Other long-term liabilities:
Embedded conversion option derivatives	2,416,000			844,000
Long-term warranty reserves	87,856,000			79,289,000
Unrecognized tax benefits	29,815,000			29,256,000
Other	80,260,000			56,737,000
Other long-term liabilities	200,347,000			166,126,000	[1]
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Net of Tax [Abstract]
Cumulative translation adjustment	4,638,000			(1,360,000)
Net unrealized gain on derivatives	4,723,000			10,473,000
Deferred taxes	(891,000)			(1,971,000)
Accumulated other comprehensive income	8,470,000			7,142,000	[1]
Leasehold Improvements [Member]
Property, plant and equipment, net:
Property, Plant and Equipment, Gross	250,745,000			244,913,000
Machinery and Equipment [Member]
Property, plant and equipment, net:
Property, Plant and Equipment, Gross	651,207,000	[6]		625,019,000	[6]
Computer Equipment [Member]
Property, plant and equipment, net:
Property, Plant and Equipment, Gross	73,382,000			69,694,000
Other Energy Equipment [Member]
Property, plant and equipment, net:
Property, Plant and Equipment, Gross	42,829,000			18,631,000
Furniture and Fixtures [Member]
Property, plant and equipment, net:
Property, Plant and Equipment, Gross	7,668,000			7,172,000
Construction in Progress [Member]
Property, plant and equipment, net:
Property, Plant and Equipment, Gross	39,020,000			46,762,000
Land and Building [Member]
Property, plant and equipment, net:
Property, Plant and Equipment, Gross	13,912,000			13,912,000
Allowance for Doubtful Accounts, Current [Member]
Accounts receivable, net:
Valuation Allowances and Reserves, Balance CLONE	(25,159,000)			(21,039,000)
Movement in Valuation Allowances and Reserves [Roll Forward]
Balance at end of period	(25,159,000)			(21,039,000)
Allowance for Sales Returns [Member]
Accounts receivable, net:
Valuation Allowances and Reserves, Balance CLONE	(7,829,000)			(8,648,000)
Movement in Valuation Allowances and Reserves [Roll Forward]
Balance at end of period	(7,829,000)			(8,648,000)
Philippines
Property, plant and equipment, net:
Property, plant and equipment, net	472,102,000	[5]		490,074,000	[5]
United States
Property, plant and equipment, net:
Property, plant and equipment, net	123,287,000	[5]		93,436,000	[5]
Mexico
Property, plant and equipment, net:
Property, plant and equipment, net	31,386,000	[5]		21,686,000	[5]
Europe
Property, plant and equipment, net:
Property, plant and equipment, net	22,382,000	[5]		20,830,000	[5]
Other
Property, plant and equipment, net:
Property, plant and equipment, net	2,723,000	[5]		2,743,000	[5]
IFC Mortgage Loan [Member] | Mortgages [Member]
Property, plant and equipment, net:
Collateralized equipment	$ 187,300,000			$ 196,600,000

[1] As adjusted to reflect the balances of Tenesol S.A. ("Tenesol") beginning October 10, 2011, as required under the accounting guidelines for a transfer of an entity under common control (see Note 3).

[2] Includes tolling agreements with suppliers in which the Company provides polysilicon required for silicon ingot manufacturing and procures the manufactured silicon ingots from the suppliers (see Notes 8 and 9).

[3] Company has related party balances in connection with transactions made with its joint ventures which are recorded within the "Prepaid expenses and other current assets," "Other long-term assets," "Accounts payable," "Customer advance, current portion," and "Customer advances, net of current portion" financial statement line items in the Consolidated Balance Sheets (see Note 5, Note 8, and Note 9).

[4] Total depreciation expense was $29.1 million and $25.7 million for the three months ended April 1, 2012 and April 3, 2011, respectively.

[5] Property, plant and equipment, net are based on the physical location of the assets.

[6] The Company's mortgage loan agreement with International Finance Corporation ("IFC") is collateralized by certain manufacturing equipment with a net book value of $187.3 million and $196.6 million as of April 1, 2012 and January 1, 2012, respectively. The Company also provided security for advance payments received from a third party in fiscal 2008 in the form of collateralized manufacturing equipment with a net book value of $19.8 million and $21.1 million as of April 1, 2012 and January 1, 2012, respectively.