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SUMMARY OF PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES - Investments in affiliates (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Investments in affiliates
Impairment charges on investments		$ 0	$ 0
Impairment of long-lived assets
Impairment charges for property, plant and equipment	$ 22,757	6,992	1,573
Assets retirement obligation
Assets Retirement Obligation (ARO) included in solar power systems	1,503	7,574
Revenue recognition
Inventories relating to unrecognized revenue	5,900	7,300	7,500
Performance-based energy incentives recognized	22,800	16,100	2,000
Total lease income recognized related to PPAs	6,200	6,100	0
Shipping and handling costs
Shipping and handling costs relating to sales	68,451	73,008	55,671
Research and development
Research and development expenses	$ 17,407	17,056	12,057
Minimum
Revenue recognition
Construction period	6 months
Maximum
Revenue recognition
Construction period	1 year
Other liabilities
Revenue recognition
Assets sold under profit sharing arrangement	$ 4,800	0
Toll manufacturing arrangements
Revenue recognition
Revenue recognized	0	6,764	16,578
Disposal of solar power projects, option to repurchase
Revenue recognition
Revenue recognized	0
Revenue recognized using the full accrual method	22,237	557,132	754,210
Revenue recognized using the percentage-of-completion method	428	863	$ 137,726
Disposal of solar power projects, option to repurchase | Financing liabilities
Revenue recognition
Financing liabilities	459,300
Distributions from the partnership	$ 1,400	0
Disposal of solar power projects, option to repurchase | Other non-current liabilities
Revenue recognition
Financing liabilities		$ 3,200

X

- Definition

Net carrying amount of the property and any related existing debt assumed by the buyer in a sale of projects accounted for profit sharing arrangement and cash received from the buyer. The amount is recorded in investments in affiliates or other liabilities on the balance sheet depending on whether the amount is a debit or credit.

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

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