For the first time, solar developers will bid for access to public land at auction much like oil and gas companies do.

The first two parcels at auction — covering 3,075 acres — will be in Colorado's San Luis Valley, the federal Bureau of Land Management said Thursday.

"There was enough interest at the application stage that we thought it was worth an auction," said Vanessa Lacayo, a BLM spokeswoman.

Under former Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, the bureau created 19 solar zones, covering more than 300,000 acres in six western states.

The aim of the zones is to speed solar development as they are located in environmentally acceptable areas near transmission lines. The zones could provide enough power — 23,700 megawatts — for 7 million homes, the BLM estimates.

"There is real interest from developers in the zones," said Alex Daue, renewable-energy coordinator for the Wilderness Society, a national environmental group.

"It shows the validity of being proactive and finding good places for solar development on public lands," Daue said.

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The idea of putting the zones out to bid is something the BLM has been working on since 2011.

The agency is asking for sealed bids for the Oct. 24 auction, Lacayo said. Auction participants may offer additional bids. The minimum bid is $63 an acre, she said.

The winning bid gets the right to submit a development plan for a solar installation.

If the plan is approved, the developer will be granted access to the land for 20 years with an option to renew.

The bureau holds quarterly auctions for oil and gas leases on federal land. At the Aug. 8 Colorado auction, three parcels totaling 2,125 acres were leased for $478,845. The highest per-acre price was for a 908-acre parcel in Moffat County that brought $425 an acre. There are four solar-energy zones in Colorado, with a total of 16,309 acres. The auction will focus on two of them, the De Tilla Gulch and Los Mogotes zones in Conejos and Saguache counties.

Mark Jaffe: 303-954-1912, mjaffe@denverpost.com or twtter.com/bymarkjaffe