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Debt - Additional Information (Details) - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Oct. 31, 2017	Oct. 31, 2016	Oct. 31, 2015	Nov. 30, 2016	Nov. 09, 2015	Mar. 05, 2013
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Proceeds from Issuance of Debt	$ 17,877,000	$ 85,935,000	$ 6,763,000
Lease payment term	36 months
Hercules Capital, Inc. [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Proceeds from Issuance of Debt		20,000,000
Term of loan	30 months
Other Deductions and Payment	$ 1,700,000
Long-term Line of Credit	$ 21,468,000	20,521,000
Hercules Capital, Inc. [Member] | Series C Preferred Stock [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument, amendment description	As collateral for obligations under Hercules Agreement, the Company granted Hercules a security interest in FuelCell Energy, Inc.’s existing and hereafter-acquired assets except for intellectual property and certain other excluded assets. Collateral does not include assets held by FuelCell Finance or any project subsidiary thereof. The Company may continue to collateralize and finance its project subsidiaries through other lenders and partners. Under the Hercules Agreement, as amended, there is a minimum cash covenant which requires the Company to maintain an unrestricted cash balance in accounts subject to an account control agreement in favor of Hercules of at least the greater of (x) (a) 75% of the outstanding loan balance plus (b) the amount of accounts payable (as defined under GAAP) not paid within 90 days of the invoice date and (y) (a) at all times prior to the Stockholder Approval Date (as defined in the Certificate of Designations for the Series C Preferred Stock), $20.0 million and (b) at all times on and after the Stockholder Approval Date, $10.0 million (the Stockholder Approval Date was December 14, 2017, which was the date on which stockholder approval of the issuance of certain shares upon the conversion and/or redemption of the Company’s Series C Preferred Stock was obtained).
Hercules Capital, Inc. [Member] | Series C Preferred Stock [Member] | Prior to Stockholder Approval Date [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Minimum required unrestricted cash balance under control agreement	$ 20,000,000
Hercules Capital, Inc. [Member] | Series C Preferred Stock [Member] | On and After Stockholder Approval Date [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Minimum required unrestricted cash balance under control agreement	$ 10,000,000
Hercules Capital, Inc. [Member] | Minimum [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage Rate Range	9.50%
Hercules Capital, Inc. [Member] | Maximum [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage Rate Range	9.75%
CT Department of Economic & Community Development [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Face Amount	$ 10,000,000	10,000,000			$ 10,000,000
State of Connecticut [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Term of loan	15 years
Debt Instrument, Face Amount					$ 10,000,000
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage	2.00%
PNC Energy Capital, LLC [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term Line of Credit	$ 46,900,000	41,600,000
Sale leaseback transaction, amount due under financing arrangement	5,400,000	41,500,000
NRG Energy, Inc. [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity	$ 40,000,000
NRG Energy, Inc. [Member] | Minimum [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage Rate Range	8.00%
NRG Energy, Inc. [Member] | Maximum [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage Rate Range	8.50%
Connecticut Green Bank Note [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity						$ 5,900,000
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage						5.00%
Long-term Line of Credit	$ 6,052,000	6,050,000
Connecticut Development Authority Note [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Face Amount	$ 4,000,000
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage	5.00%
Long-term Line of Credit	$ 2,349,000	$ 2,589,000
Collateralized Agreements	$ 4,000,000
New Britain Renewable Energy Member [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage Rate Range	5.00%
Long-term Line of Credit	$ 1,697,000
Notes Payable to Bank, Current	$ 1,700,000			$ 2,300,000

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The total of collateralized agreements including securities purchased under agreements to resell (repos), borrowed securities, and secured demand notes.

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Face (par) amount of debt instrument at time of issuance.

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The average effective interest rate during the reporting period.

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Contractual interest rate for funds borrowed, under the debt agreement.

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Term of lessee's finance lease, in 'PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format, for example, 'P1Y5M13D' represents reported fact of one year, five months, and thirteen days.

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The carrying value as of the balance sheet date of the current and noncurrent portions of long-term obligations drawn from a line of credit, which is a bank's commitment to make loans up to a specific amount. Examples of items that might be included in the application of this element may consist of letters of credit, standby letters of credit, and revolving credit arrangements, under which borrowings can be made up to a maximum amount as of any point in time conditional on satisfaction of specified terms before, as of and after the date of drawdowns on the line. Includes short-term obligations that would normally be classified as current liabilities but for which (a) postbalance sheet date issuance of a long term obligation to refinance the short term obligation on a long term basis, or (b) the enterprise has entered into a financing agreement that clearly permits the enterprise to refinance the short-term obligation on a long term basis and the following conditions are met (1) the agreement does not expire within 1 year and is not cancelable by the lender except for violation of an objectively determinable provision, (2) no violation exists at the BS date, and (3) the lender has entered into the financing agreement is expected to be financially capable of honoring the agreement.

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Maximum borrowing capacity under the credit facility without consideration of any current restrictions on the amount that could be borrowed or the amounts currently outstanding under the facility.

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