Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Long-term Debt - Additional Information (Details)

v3.8.0.1
Long-term Debt - Additional Information (Details)
$ / shares in Units, shares in Millions
3 Months Ended 12 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2018
USD ($)
debt_instrument
Mar. 31, 2017
USD ($)
Dec. 31, 2017
USD ($)
$ / shares
shares
Jan. 31, 2017
USD ($)
Debt Instrument [Line Items]        
Aggregate principal amount $ 1,214,612,000   $ 1,210,861,000  
Principal, net of issuance costs 1,215,000,000      
Total interest expense 18,711,000 $ 13,783,000    
Asset-Backed Non-recourse Debt [Member]        
Debt Instrument [Line Items]        
Principal, net of issuance costs 1,215,000,000   $ 1,211,000,000  
SunPower Corporation [Member] | Residential Solar Loan [Member]        
Debt Instrument [Line Items]        
Payment of principal and interest on loan $ 1,000,000      
HASI Sustainable Yield Bond 2015-1 [Member] | Asset-Backed Non-recourse Debt [Member]        
Debt Instrument [Line Items]        
Number of debt instruments | debt_instrument 2      
HASI Sustainable Yield Bond 2015-1A [Member] | Asset-Backed Non-recourse Debt [Member]        
Debt Instrument [Line Items]        
Aggregate principal amount $ 101,000,000      
Interest rate 4.28%      
HASI Sustainable Yield Bond 2015-1B [Member] | Asset-Backed Non-recourse Debt [Member]        
Debt Instrument [Line Items]        
Aggregate principal amount $ 18,000,000     $ 14,000,000
Interest rate 5.00%      
4.125% Convertible Senior Notes Due September 1, 2022 [Member] | Convertible Senior Notes [Member]        
Debt Instrument [Line Items]        
Interest rate     4.125%  
Principal $ 150,000,000   $ 150,000,000  
Principal, net of issuance costs     $ 145,000,000  
Conversion rate of shares for each $1,000 principal amount of convertible notes     36.7107  
Conversion price per share (in usd per share) | $ / shares     $ 27.24  
Conversion of debt equals shares | shares     5.5  
Adjustment for dividends declared (in usd per share) | $ / shares     $ 0.33  
Redemption price, percentage     100.00%  
Total interest expense $ 2,000,000