China has more large-scale solar capacity than the rest of the world combined, and the country's solar technology has helped eastern Spain's small village of Luco de Jiloca to become self-sufficient in energy.

The villagers started a pioneering project of installing a solar farm two years ago, and with the work having completed this year, it helps local households to cut their energy bills between 40 and 50 percent.

Over the two-year construction time, each villager committed not only money, but their own time and effort.

"People who had no connection at first connected through this project. At the same time, it generated employment because a consultancy firm was established, which is now providing employment itself," said local social entrepreneur Maria Navarro. "It was a first step in generating employment in the area."

Engineer Carlos Arinez was originally from Luco de Jiloca. He returned to the village after many years working abroad to become one of the three people who set up the small solar plant.

He said the project not only saved the investors' money, but also gave them autonomy and other benefits which could be copied elsewhere.

"It's a hope for small villages or small towns, for those which suffer from depopulation or a kind of abandonment," said Arinez, "and above all, it's a vision that ten, fifteen or twenty years from now, will generate a social movement and also an economic movement that creates opportunities for rural areas and small towns, and create hope for future growth."

With the help of the Chinese solar technology, the tiny local project not only delivers green energy to the village, but also promotes new ways of collaboration and interaction at a local level.

This report is part of our documentary The Green Silk Road - Connecting Europe's Renewable Grid.  You can watch the whole story here.

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