v3.3.1.900

Note 3 - Discontinued Operations | 12 Months Ended
--- | ---
Dec. 31, 2014
Discontinued Operations and Disposal Groups [Abstract] |
Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations, Disclosure [Text Block] | 3. Discontinued Operations On September 10, 2010, we announced that we were exiting the solar panel installation business and we were expanding our distribution business to include sales of our Andalay Solar Power Systems directly to dealers in California. The exit from the installation business was essentially completed by the end of 2010. As a result of the decision to exit the California installation business we recorded a restructuring charge totaling approximately $3.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2010, the majority of which were non-cash charges. This restructuring charge was comprised primarily of (i) one-time severance costs of $765,000 related to headcount reductions paid primarily in shares of our common stock, (ii) inventory write downs of $948,000, (iii) lease accelerations and the write off of leasehold improvements of $307,000, (iv) goodwill impairment of $299,000, (v) vehicle, furniture and fixtures and computer equipment write downs of $290,000 and (vi) other prepaid costs write-downs of $367,000. During the year ended December 31, 2010, we recorded a loss from discontinued operations of $6.5 million. During the year ended December 31, 2014, we re-evaluated our warranty liability related to our discontinued installation operations right before and in conjunction with re-entering the installation operations, and reduced the liability by approximately $324,000. This reduction to the liabilities for discontinued operations was recorded as a gain from operations of discontinued operations. The remaining warranty liability related to our previously discontinued operations was reclassified into current liabilities and has been included in “Accrued warranty.” We entered into a Supply and Warranty Agreement and Master Assignment Agreement with Real Goods Solar, Inc. (Real Goods), pursuant to which Real Goods has agreed to perform certain warranty work. The terms of the agreement provide that an escrow account be established as a source of funds from which to satisfy our obligation to pay Real Goods for its fees and reimburse it for its expenses for this warranty work. In March 2011, we entered into an Escrow Agreement with Real Goods and deposited $200,000 into an escrow account. The amount is reflected in other assets in the consolidated balance sheets. The escrow deposit will be released to us in the amount of $40,000, or one-fifth of the remaining escrow funds, per year after each of the fifth through the ninth anniversary of the escrow agreement. In December 2014, $110,000 of the funds in escrow were returned by Real Goods.

X
- References No definition available. + Details
Name: | us-gaap_DiscontinuedOperationsAndDisposalGroupsAbstract
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition The entire disclosure for the facts and circumstances leading to the completed or expected disposal, manner and timing of disposal, the gain (loss) recognized in the income statement and the income statement caption that includes that gain (loss), amounts of revenues and pretax profit or loss reported in discontinued operations, the segment in which the disposal group was reported, and the classification (whether sold or classified as held for sale) and carrying value of the assets and liabilities comprising the disposal group. Includes all disposal groups, including those classified as components of the entity (discontinued operations). + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 205 -SubTopic 20 -Section 50 -Paragraph 2 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6360339&loc=d3e1436-107760 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 205 -SubTopic 20 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6360339&loc=d3e1361-107760 Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 205 -SubTopic 20 -Section 50 -Paragraph 3 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6360339&loc=d3e1474-107760 Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 205 -SubTopic 20 -Section 50 -Paragraph 5 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6360339&loc=d3e1510-107760 Reference 5: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 205 -SubTopic 20 -Section 45 -Paragraph 3 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6892542&loc=d3e957-107759 Reference 6: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 205 -SubTopic 20 -Section 45 -Paragraph 5 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6892542&loc=d3e1020-107759 Reference 7: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 205 -SubTopic 20 -Section 45 -Paragraph 4 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6892542&loc=d3e1012-107759 Reference 8: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 360 -SubTopic 10 -Section 45 -Paragraph 5 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=8077374&loc=d3e2443-110228 Reference 9: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 360 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 3 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6391110&loc=d3e2941-110230 + Details
Name: | us-gaap_DisposalGroupsIncludingDiscontinuedOperationsDisclosureTextBlock
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | nonnum:textBlockItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration