XML 82 R52.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT
v3.8.0.1

Investments Accounted for by the Equity Method and Variable Interest Entities (Tables) | 12 Months Ended
--- | ---
Dec. 31, 2017
Equity Method Investments and Joint Ventures [Abstract] |
Summary NRG's equity method investments | The following table summarizes NRG's equity method investments as of December 31, 2017:
Name | Economic Interest |  | Investment Balance
|  |  | (In millions)
Avenal Solar Holdings LLC (a) | 50.0 | % |  | $ | (6 | )
Desert Sunlight Investment Holdings, LLC (a) | 25.0 | % |  | 272 |
Elkhorn Ridge Wind, LLC (a) | 47.0 | % |  | 73 |
GenConn Energy LLC (a) | 50.0 | % |  | 102 |
Four Brothers Solar, LLC (a)(c) | 50.0 | % |  | 213 |
Granite Mountain Holdings, LLC (a)(c) | 50.0 | % |  | 78 |
Iron Springs Holdings, LLC (a)(c) | 50.0 | % |  | 54 |
Midway-Sunset Cogeneration Company | 50.0 | % |  | 16 |
San Juan Mesa Wind Project, LLC (a) | 75.0 | % |  | 66 |
Watson Cogeneration Company | 49.0 | % |  | 21 |
Gladstone Power Station (b) | 37.5 | % |  | 139 |
Other(d) | Various |  |  | 10 |
Total equity investments in affiliates |  |  | $ | 1,038 |
(a) Equity method investments owned by NRG Yield (b) Gladstone Power Station is located in Australia (c) Economic interest based on cash to be distributed (d) Refer to Note 10 - Asset Impairments for discussion of NRG's investment in Petra Nova Parish Holdings, LLC.
Undistributed earnings by equity investment |
| As of December 31,
| 2017 |  | 2016
| (In millions)
Undistributed earnings from equity investments | $ | 120 |  |  | $ | 101 |
Summary of Financial Information for Consolidated VIEs | The summarized financial information for the Company's consolidated VIEs consisted of the following:
(In millions) | December 31, 2017 |  | December 31, 2016
Current assets | $ | 118 |  |  | $ | 87 |
Net property, plant and equipment | 2,337 |  |  | 1,534 |
Other long-term assets | 658 |  |  | 954 |
Total assets | 3,113 |  |  | 2,575 |
Current liabilities | 96 |  |  | 59 |
Long-term debt | 661 |  |  | 442 |
Other long-term liabilities | 209 |  |  | 183 |
Total liabilities | 966 |  |  | 684 |
Redeemable noncontrolling interests | 78 |  |  | 46 |
Noncontrolling interests | 507 |  |  | 529 |
Net assets less noncontrolling interests | $ | 1,562 |  |  | $ | 1,316 |

X
- Definition Disclosure of details relating to undistributed earnings by equity method investments. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | nrg_ScheduleOfEquityMethodInvestmentsUndistributedEarningsTableTextBlock
Namespace Prefix: | nrg_
Data Type: | nonnum:textBlockItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition The entire disclosures of supplemental information, including descriptions and amounts, related to the balance sheet, income statement, and/or cash flow statement. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | us-gaap_AdditionalFinancialInformationDisclosureTextBlock
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | nonnum:textBlockItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

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

X
- Definition Tabular disclosure of equity method investments including, but not limited to, name of each investee or group of investments, percentage ownership, difference between recorded amount of an investment and the value of the underlying equity in the net assets, and summarized financial information. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 323 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 3 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=66011266&loc=d3e33918-111571 + Details
Name: | us-gaap_EquityMethodInvestmentsTextBlock
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | nonnum:textBlockItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration