LOS ANGELES-

The Sierra Club welcomed news Tuesday that California crossed the benchmark of 1,500 megawatts of installed solar power,which is to a top-of-the-line power plant and enough energy to power 300,000 homes.

The milestone shows how people are making an impact in fighting climate change, and solar rooftop is becoming a credible alternative to fossil fuels.

“Rooftop by rooftop, solar power is becoming a positive force for cleaner energy, jobs and the environment, and California is leading the way” said Evan Gillespie, Director of the Sierra Club’s My Generation Campaign, in a news release.

The 1,500 Megawatts reached Tuesday is more than half of the capacity of the long-idled San Onofre Nuclear Station in San Diego and more than the total capacity of California’s top four major proposed fossil fuel projects.

“The solar panels have the side effect of making many top climate change emitters – coal and natural gas power plants – obsolete,” said Ray Pringle, Committee Member for the My Generation Campaign. “When you put one of these solar installations on your roof, you’re not just saving money, you’re helping our country get off the fossil fuels that cause climate disruption.”

The announcement comes on the heels of last week’s SEIA report, U.S. Solar Market Insight: Year -in-Review 2012, which showed that California leads the nation in solar capacity, with the industry now supporting 40,000 jobs.