Document and Entity Information Document - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017	Feb. 09, 2018	Jul. 02, 2017
Entity Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2017
Entity Registrant Name	SUNPOWER CORP
Entity Central Index Key	0000867773
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Public Float			$ 552,451,044
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2017
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Common Stock, Shares, Outstanding		139,926,880