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Nature of Business and Basis of Presentation (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands |  | 12 Months Ended
--- | --- | ---
Dec. 03, 2015 | Oct. 31, 2016 | Oct. 31, 2015 | Oct. 31, 2014
Extended Product Warranty Description |  |  | We warranty our products for a specific period of time against manufacturing or performance defects. Our U.S. warranty is limited to a term generally 15 months after shipment or 12 months after acceptance of our products, except for fuel cell kits. We have agreed to warranty fuel cell kits and components for 21 months from the date of shipment due to the additional shipping and customer manufacture time required. |  |
project assets current and noncurrent |  |  | $ 47,111 | $ 12,182 |
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents |  |  | 34,100 | 26,900 |
Letters of Credit Outstanding, Amount |  |  | $ 7,900 | 8,700 |
Letter of Credit Date of Expiration |  |  | Apr. 01, 2019 |  |
Product Warranty Accrual | [1] |  | $ 516 | 964 |
Reserve for Performance Guarantees |  |  | 3,300 | 2,600 |
Loss reserve on service agreements |  |  | 2,700 | 800 |
Long-term stack residual value | [2] |  | 0 | $ 2,509 |
Future License Fees To Be Paid |  |  | $ 18,000 |  |
Reduced royalty percentage |  |  | 3.00% |  |
significant customer revenue percentage |  |  | 78.00% | 89.00% | 85.00%
Common stock ownership percentage |  |  | 4.99% |  |
Foreign Currency Transaction Gain (Loss), Unrealized |  |  | $ 300 | $ 1,700 | $ 600
Restricted cash and cash equivalents - long-term |  |  | 24,692 | 20,600 |
Customer Advances, Current |  |  | $ 5,300 | $ 9,600 |
Common Stock, Shares, Outstanding |  |  | 35,174,424 | 25,964,710 |
Common Stock, Shares Authorized |  |  | 75,000,000 | 39,583,333 |
Reverse Split [Member] |  |  |  |  |
Stockholders' Equity, Reverse Stock Split |  | 1-for-12 |  |  |
Common stock, shares outstanding prior to reverse split |  | 314,500,000 |  |  |
Common Stock, Shares, Outstanding |  | 26,200,000 |  |  |
Stack Technology Transfer and License Agreement [Member] |  |  |  |  |
Upfront License Fee |  |  | $ 7,000 |  |
Service and License Fee Revenues [Member] |  |  |  |  |
License Fee and Royalty Income |  |  | $ 6,200 | $ 3,900 | $ 4,300
POSCO Energy [Member] |  |  |  |  |
significant customer revenue percentage |  |  | 48.00% | 67.00% | 69.00%
Common stock ownership percentage |  |  | 7.00% |  |
United Illuminating [Member] |  |  |  |  |
significant customer revenue percentage |  |  | 10.00% | 14.00% | 9.00%
Department of Energy [Member] |  |  |  |  |
significant customer revenue percentage |  |  | 8.00% | 5.00% | 4.00%
NRG Energy [Member] |  |  |  |  |
Common stock ownership percentage |  |  | 4.00% |  |
Dominion Bridgeport FuelCell Park [Member] |  |  |  |  |
significant customer revenue percentage |  |  | 6.00% | 3.00% | 3.00%
Restricted cash and cash equivalents - long-term |  |  |  | $ 15,000 |
BioFuels [Member] |  |  |  |  |
significant customer revenue percentage |  |  | 6.00% | 0.00% | 0.00%
POSCO Energy [Member] |  |  |  |  |
license agreement term |  |  | 15 years |  |
Maximum [Member] | Reverse Split [Member] |  |  |  |  |
Common Stock, Shares Authorized |  | 475,000,000 |  |  |
Minimum [Member] | Reverse Split [Member] |  |  |  |  |
Common Stock, Shares Authorized |  | 39,600,000 |  |  |
[1] | Activity in the accrued product warranty costs during the fiscal year ended October 31, 2016 and 2015 included additions for estimates of potential future warranty obligations of $0.3 million and $0.6 million, respectively, on contracts in the warranty period and reductions related to actual warranty spend of $0.7 million and $0.8 million, respectively, as contracts progress through the warranty period or are beyond the warranty period.
[2] | Relates to estimated residual value for module exchanges performed under the Company's service agreements where the useful life extends beyond the contractual term of the service agreement and the Company obtains title for the module from the customer upon expiration or non-renewal of the service agreement. If the Company does not obtain rights to title from the customer, the full cost of the module is expensed at the time of the module exchange. The decrease from October 31, 2015 represents the residual value being recognized as cost of service agreements due to contract term extensions.

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