SUMMARY OF PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Details 4) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Investments in affiliates
Impairment charges on investments	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0
Impairment of long-lived assets
Impairment charges for property, plant and equipment	6,992	1,573	3,665
Assets retirement obligation
Assets Retirement Obligation (ARO) included in solar power systems	7,574	0
Revenue recognition
Inventories relating to unrecognized revenue for solar power products	7,300	7,500	8,200
Performance-based energy incentives recognized	16,100	2,000	1,200
Total lease income recognized related to PPAs	6,100	0	0
Shipping and handling costs
Shipping and handling costs relating to sales	73,008	55,671	33,938
Research and development
Research and development expenses	17,056	12,057	11,685
Advertising expenses
Advertising expenses	$ 5,953	6,581	4,669
Minimum
Revenue recognition
Construction period	6 months
Maximum
Revenue recognition
Construction period	1 year
Toll manufacturing arrangements
Revenue recognition
Revenue recognized	$ 6,764	16,578	13,953
Disposal of solar power projects, option to repurchase
Revenue recognition
Revenue recognized	0
Distributions from the partnership	0
Revenue recognized using the full accrual method	557,132	754,210	211,123
Revenue recognized using the percentage-of-completion method	863	$ 137,726	$ 81,234
Disposal of solar power projects, option to repurchase \| Other non-current liabilities
Revenue recognition
Proceeds from buyers	$ 3,200

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Amount charged to advertising expense for the period, which are expenses incurred with the objective of increasing revenue for a specified brand, product or product line.

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Amount of write-down of assets recognized in the income statement. Includes, but is not limited to, losses from tangible assets, intangible assets and goodwill.

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The carrying amount of a liability for an asset retirement obligation. An asset retirement obligation is a legal obligation associated with the disposal or retirement of a tangible long-lived asset that results from the acquisition, construction or development, or the normal operations of a long-lived asset, except for certain obligations of lessees.

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The amount by which the fair value of an investment is less than the amortized cost basis or carrying amount of that investment at the balance sheet date and the decline in fair value is deemed to be other than temporary, before considering whether or not such amount is recognized in earnings or other comprehensive income.

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The total amount of revenue recognized for the period from operating leases, including minimum lease revenue, contingent revenue, percentage revenue and sublease revenue.

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Amount of cash inflow from the sale of other assets recognized in investing activities.

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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.

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Aggregate revenue during the period from the sale of goods in the normal course of business, after deducting returns, allowances and discounts.

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Cost incurred during the reporting period in transporting goods and services to customers. Includes freight-out costs.

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