v3.7.0.1

Commitments and Contingencies Commitments and Contingencies (Details)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Outstanding claims related to guarantees	0

X

- Definition

Outstanding claims related to guarantees

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	cpn_OutstandingClaimsRelatedToGuarantees
Namespace Prefix:	cpn_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_OtherCommitmentsLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration