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SUMMARY OF PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Details 4) (USD $) | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2012 | Dec. 31, 2011 | Dec. 31, 2010
Investments in affiliates |  |  |
Impairment charges on investments | $ 1,100,000 |  | $ 3,000,000
Impairment of long-lived assets |  |  |
Impairment charge | 0 | 0 | 0
Revenue arrangements |  |  |
Revenue recognized using the full accrue method | 48,900,758 |  |
Inventories relating to unrecognized revenue | 18,400,000 | 23,200,000 | 18,800,000
Shipping and handling costs |  |  |
Shipping and handling costs relating to solar module sales | 41,902,327 | 31,785,077 | 23,727,467
Research and development |  |  |
Research and development expenses | 12,998,122 | 19,838,547 | 6,843,216
Advertising expenses |  |  |
Advertising expenses | 11,874,452 | 11,194,027 | 5,148,215
Minimum |  |  |
Revenue arrangements |  |  |
Construction period | 6 months |  |
Maximum |  |  |
Revenue arrangements |  |  |
Construction period | 1 year |  |
Toll manufacturing arrangements |  |  |
Revenue arrangements |  |  |
Finished goods sold | 7,911,733 | 24,709,792 |
Buy-and-sell arrangements |  |  |
Revenue arrangements |  |  |
Cost of raw materials purchased |  | 21,463,337 |
Finished goods sold |  | $ 43,883,871 |

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- Definition The aggregate costs incurred (1) in a planned search or critical investigation aimed at discovery of new knowledge with the hope that such knowledge will be useful in developing a new product or service, a new process or technique, or in bringing about a significant improvement to an existing product or process; or (2) to translate research findings or other knowledge into a plan or design for a new product or process or for a significant improvement to an existing product or process whether intended for sale or the entity's use, during the reporting period charged to research and development projects, including the costs of developing computer software up to the point in time of achieving technological feasibility, and costs allocated in accounting for a business combination to in-process projects deemed to have no alternative future use. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS) -Number 141 -Paragraph 51 -Subparagraph g -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy. Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS) -Number 86 -Paragraph 11, 12 -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy. Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 985 -SubTopic 20 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6501960&loc=d3e128462-111756 Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 730 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6420194&loc=d3e21568-108373 Reference 5: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS) -Number 2 -Paragraph 12, 13 -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy. + Details
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