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Nature of Business, Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies - Additional Information (Details) |  | 1 Months Ended | 3 Months Ended | 12 Months Ended
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
Aug. 29, 2017 USD ($) MW | Jun. 30, 2017 MW | Oct. 31, 2017 USD ($) | Oct. 31, 2017 USD ($) | Oct. 31, 2016 USD ($) | Oct. 31, 2015 USD ($)
Nature of Business, Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies [Line items] |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Debt issuance costs, deduction of current portion of long term debt | [1] |  |  | $ 129,000 | $ 129,000 | $ 152,000 |
Debt issuance costs, deduction of long-term debt and other liabilities | [2] |  |  | 97,000 | 97,000 | 225,000 |
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents |  |  |  | 38,200,000 | 38,200,000 | 34,100,000 |
Restricted cash and cash equivalents - long-term |  |  |  | 33,526,000 | 33,526,000 | 24,692,000 |
Letters of Credit Outstanding, Amount |  |  |  | 2,900,000 | $ 2,900,000 | 7,900,000 |
Letter of Credit Date of Expiration |  |  |  |  | Apr. 01, 2019 |  |
Customer Advances, Current |  |  |  | 3,000,000 | $ 3,000,000 | 5,300,000 |
Short-term project assets |  |  |  | 0 | 0 |  |
Impairment charges |  |  |  |  | 0 | 0 | $ 0
Revenue |  |  |  |  | $ 7,233,000 | 1,267,000 |
Excess service agreements term |  |  |  |  | 5 years |  |
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. |  |
Product Warranty Accrual | [3] |  |  | 348,000 | $ 348,000 | 516,000 |
Reserve for Performance Guarantees |  |  |  | 2,200,000 | 2,200,000 | 3,300,000 |
Loss reserve on service agreements |  |  |  | 1,100,000 | 1,100,000 | 2,700,000 |
Long-term stack residual value | [4] |  |  | 987,000 | 987,000 | 0 |
Future License Fees To Be Paid |  |  |  | 18,000,000 | $ 18,000,000 |  |
Reduced royalty percentage |  |  |  |  | 3.00% |  |
Foreign Currency Transaction Gain (Loss), Unrealized |  |  |  |  | $ (700,000) | $ 300,000 | $ 1,700,000
Sales Revenue Net [Member] | Customer Concentration Risk [Member] |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Nature of Business, Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies [Line items] |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Significant customer revenue percentage |  |  |  |  | 78.00% | 75.00% | 90.00%
Service and License Fee Revenues [Member] |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Nature of Business, Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies [Line items] |  |  |  |  |  |  |
License Fee and Royalty Income |  |  |  |  | $ 2,700,000 | $ 6,200,000 | $ 3,900,000
Stack Technology Transfer and License Agreement [Member] |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Nature of Business, Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies [Line items] |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Upfront License Fee |  |  |  | 7,000,000 | 7,000,000 |  |
Dominion Bridgeport FuelCell Park [Member] |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Nature of Business, Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies [Line items] |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Restricted cash and cash equivalents - long-term |  |  |  | 15,000,000 | $ 15,000,000 | $ 15,000,000 |
Restricted cash and cash equivalents - long-term service agreement |  |  |  |  | 15 years |  |
Dominion Bridgeport FuelCell Park [Member] | Sales Revenue Net [Member] | Customer Concentration Risk [Member] |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Nature of Business, Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies [Line items] |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Significant customer revenue percentage |  |  |  |  | 11.00% | 6.00% | 3.00%
Hanyang Industrial Development Co., Ltd [Member] |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Nature of Business, Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies [Line items] |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Number of MW awarded | MW |  |  | 20 |  |  |  |
Contract to sell fuel cell plants | MW |  | 20 |  |  |  |  |
Project represent in excess value of contract |  | $ 60,000,000 |  |  |  |  |
Revenue |  |  |  | $ 39,000,000 |  |  |
Accounting Standards Update 2015-03 [Member] | Current Assets [Member] |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Nature of Business, Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies [Line items] |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Debt issuance costs, deduction of current portion of long term debt |  |  |  |  |  | $ 300,000 |
Reclassification of debt issuance costs to be direct deduction of current portion of long term debt |  |  |  |  |  | 300,000 |
Accounting Standards Update 2015-03 [Member] | Other Assets [Member] |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Nature of Business, Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies [Line items] |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Debt issuance costs, deduction of long-term debt and other liabilities |  |  |  |  |  | 1,100,000 |
Accounting Standards Update 2015-03 [Member] | Other Assets, Net [Member] |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Nature of Business, Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies [Line items] |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Reclassification of debt issuance costs to be direct deduction of long-term debt and other liabilities |  |  |  |  |  | $ 1,100,000 |
[1] | Represents the current portion of direct deferred finance costs that relate primarily to securing a $40.0 million loan facility with NRG which is being amortized over the five-year life of the facility.
[2] | Represents the long-term portion of direct deferred finance costs relating to the Company’s loan facility with NRG which is being amortized over the five-year life of the facility.
[3] | Activity in the accrued product warranty costs for the years ended October 31, 2017 and 2016 included additions for estimates of future warranty obligations of $0.6 million and $0.3 million, respectively, on contracts in the warranty period and reductions related to actual warranty spend of $0.8 million and $0.7 million, respectively, as contracts progress through the warranty period or are beyond the warranty period.
[4] | 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 increase from October 31, 2016 represents residual value for two module replacements performed during the year ended October 31, 2017.

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