Consolidated Balance Sheets	3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended
	Jul. 01, 2018 USD ($)	Jul. 01, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)
Contract liabilities, net of current portion	$ 148,182,000	$ 148,182,000	$ 171,610,000
Total liabilities	2,924,834,000	2,924,834,000	3,321,032,000
Other long-term liabilities	799,339,000	799,339,000	804,122,000
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	256,689,000	256,689,000	435,097,000
Restricted cash and cash equivalents, current portion	36,941,000	36,941,000	43,709,000
Accounts receivable, net	205,795,000	205,795,000	204,966,000
Contract assets1	70,449,000	70,449,000	35,074,000
Inventories	368,407,000	368,407,000	352,829,000
Advances to suppliers, current portion	83,771,000	83,771,000	30,689,000
Project assets - plants and land, current portion1	76,347,000	76,347,000	103,063,000
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	121,348,000	121,348,000	146,209,000
Total current assets	1,219,747,000	1,219,747,000	1,351,636,000
Restricted cash and cash equivalents, net of current portion	70,970,000	70,970,000	65,531,000
Restricted long-term marketable securities	5,838,000	5,838,000	6,238,000
Property, plant and equipment, net	757,071,000	757,071,000	1,147,845,000
Solar power systems leased and to be leased, net	359,095,000	359,095,000	369,218,000
Advances to suppliers, net of current portion	117,096,000	117,096,000	185,299,000
Long-term financing receivables, net	379,076,000	379,076,000	330,672,000
Other intangible assets, net	20,878,000	20,878,000	25,519,000
Other long-term assets	140,039,000	140,039,000	546,698,000
Total assets	3,069,810,000	3,069,810,000	4,028,656,000
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable	349,819,000	349,819,000	406,902,000
Accrued liabilities1	196,405,000	196,405,000	229,208,000
Contract liabilities, current portion1			0
Short-term debt	58,194,000	58,194,000	58,131,000
Convertible debt, current portion1	0	0	299,685,000
Customer advances, current portion			0
Total current liabilities	696,212,000	696,212,000	1,098,212,000
Long-term debt	463,696,000	463,696,000	430,634,000
Convertible debt, net of current portion	817,405,000	817,405,000	816,454,000
Customer Advances, Noncurrent			0
Other long-term liabilities1	799,339,000	799,339,000	804,122,000
Contract liabilities, current portion	91,794,000	91,794,000	104,286,000
Redeemable noncontrolling interests in subsidiaries	14,335,000	14,335,000	15,236,000
Equity:
Preferred stock, $0.001 par value; 10,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding as of both July 1, 2018 and December 31, 2017	0	0	0
Common stock, $0.001 par value, 367,500,000 shares authorized; 151,829,011 shares issued, and 140,985,344 outstanding as of July 1, 2018; 149,818,442 shares issued, and 139,660,635 outstanding as of December 31, 2017	141,000	141,000	140,000
Additional paid-in capital	2,455,813,000	2,455,813,000	2,442,513,000
Accumulated deficit	(2,232,988,000)	(2,232,988,000)	(1,669,897,000)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(1,676,000)	(1,676,000)	(3,008,000)
Treasury stock, at cost; 10,843,667 shares of common stock as of July 1, 2018; 10,157,807 shares of common stock as of December 31, 2017	186,439,000	186,439,000	181,539,000
Total stockholders' equity	34,851,000	34,851,000	588,209,000
Noncontrolling interests in subsidiaries	95,790,000	95,790,000	104,179,000
Total equity	130,641,000	130,641,000	692,388,000
Total liabilities and equity	3,069,810,000	3,069,810,000	4,028,656,000
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities, net of effect of acquisitions:
Depreciation and amortization		78,401,000
Stock-based compensation		13,697,000
Non-cash interest expense		8,262,000
Impairment of Equity Method Investments		0
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets Held-for-use	369,168,000
Proceeds from Equity Method Investment, Distribution	8,100,000	3,947,000
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated investees	(13,415,000)	(15,559,000)
Equity Method Investment, Realized Gain (Loss) on Disposal		(50,025,000)
Deferred income taxes		1,431,000
Impairment of residential lease assets	68,269,000	117,361,000
Other, net		(2,443,000)
Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of effect of acquisitions:
Accounts receivable		4,033,000
Contract assets		(35,375,000)
Inventories		75,849,000
Project assets		11,086,000
Prepaid expenses and other assets		34,308,000
Long-term financing receivables, net		(109,156,000)
Advances to suppliers		(15,122,000)
Accounts payable and other accrued liabilities		(79,444,000)
Contract liabilities		(35,919,000)
Net cash used in operating activities		(355,342,000)
Cash flows from investing activities:
Purchases of property, plant and equipment		25,362,000
Cash paid for solar power systems, leased and to be leased		38,688,000
Cash paid for solar power systems		3,436,000
Cash paid for investments in unconsolidated investees		14,061,000
Proceeds from Equity Method Investment, Distribution, Return of Capital		12,952,000
Net cash used in investing activities		349,171,000
Cash flows from financing activities:
Proceeds from issuance of bank loans, net of issuance costs		116,459,000
Repayments of Bank Debt		419,527,000
Proceeds from issuance of non-recourse residential financing, net of issuance costs		67,109,000
Repayments of Debt		9,899,000
Contributions from noncontrolling interests and redeemable noncontrolling interests attributable to residential projects		73,290,000
Payments to Noncontrolling Interests		12,582,000
Net cash provided by financing activities		(172,442,000)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents		(1,124,000)
Cash, Cash Equivalents, Restricted Cash and Restricted Cash Equivalents, Period Increase (Decrease)		(179,737,000)
Cash, Cash Equivalents, Restricted Cash and Restricted Cash Equivalents	$ 364,600,000	364,600,000	$ 544,337,000
Non-cash transactions:
Costs of solar power systems, leased and to be leased, sourced from existing inventory		21,640,000
Costs of solar power systems, leased and to be leased, funded by liabilities		5,166,000
Costs of solar power systems under sale-leaseback financing arrangements, sourced from project assets		15,580,000
Property, plant and equipment acquisitions funded by liabilities		15,954,000
Contractual obligations satisfied with inventory		40,881,000
Assumption of project loan by customer		$ 27,321,000