[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 211 (Thursday, November 4, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60905-60907]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-24021]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[22X.LLAZ920000 L13400000.KH0000]


Notice of Competitive Offer for Solar Energy Development on 
Public Lands in the State of Arizona

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of competitive offer.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Arizona State Office, 
Phoenix, Arizona, will accept competitive bids to lease public lands 
for solar energy projects on approximately 8,526 acres in the State of 
Arizona.

DATES: The BLM will hold a competitive live auction at 10:00 a.m. local 
time on December 8, 2021.

ADDRESSES: The auction will be held at: BLM Arizona State Office, 1 
North Central Ave, #800, Phoenix, AZ 85004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Derek Eysenbach, Project Manager, BLM 
Arizona State Office, by telephone: 602-417-9505 or email: 
[email protected]. People who use a telecommunications device for the 
deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339 
to contact Mr. Eysenbach during normal business hours. The FRS is 
available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or 
question. You will receive a reply during normal business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BLM Arizona State Office has received 
interest to lease lands within each of its Solar Energy Zones (SEZ). 
The BLM will offer leases for solar energy development within the SEZs 
in accordance with the competitive process described in 43 CFR 2800, 
subpart 2809.
    Based on the expressed interest, each SEZ is being offered in its 
entirety. The SEZs being offered for competitive solar lease sale are 
described as follows:

Gillespie Solar Energy Zone

Maricopa County, Arizona

    The Gillespie SEZ consists of approximately 2,618 contiguous acres 
of public land, identified in the 2012 Final Programmatic Environmental 
Impact Statement for Solar Energy Development in Six Southwestern 
States (Solar Programmatic EIS) and subsequent Approved Resource 
Management Plan Amendments/Record of Decision (ROD) as suitable for 
utility-scale solar energy development. The Gillespie SEZ is managed by 
the BLM's Lower Sonoran Field Office. Detailed information on the 
Gillespie SEZ, including maps, completed resource studies, and 
recommended design features can be viewed and downloaded at: https://blmsolar.anl.gov/sez/az/gillespie/.

Brenda Solar Energy Zone

La Paz County, Arizona

    The Brenda SEZ consists of approximately 3,348 contiguous acres of 
public land, identified in the 2012 Solar Programmatic EIS and ROD as 
suitable for utility-scale solar energy development. The Brenda SEZ is 
managed by the BLM's Lake Havasu Field Office. Detailed information on 
the Brenda SEZ, including maps, completed resource studies, groundwater 
modeling, and recommended design features can be viewed and downloaded 
at: https://blmsolar.anl.gov/sez/az/brenda/.

Agua Caliente Solar Energy Zone

Yuma County, Arizona

    The Agua Caliente SEZ consists of approximately 2,560 acres of 
public land, split into two parcels surrounding an existing solar 
energy facility on private lands. Agua Caliente was identified in the 
2013 Renewable Arizona: Restoration Design Energy Project Environmental 
Impact Statement and subsequent ROD as suitable for utility-scale solar 
energy development. The Agua Caliente SEZ is managed by the BLM's Yuma 
Field Office. Detailed information on the Agua Caliente SEZ, including 
maps, completed resource studies, and recommended design features can 
be viewed and downloaded at: https://blmsolar.anl.gov/sez/az/agua-caliente/.
    As provided for in 43 CFR 2809.13(a), bidding will occur in an oral 
auction, conducted in-person. The auction will be open to the public 
with potential limitations based on room capacity and the event may be 
live-streamed. More information will be made available at https://go.usa.gov/xMXRG. Interested bidders are required to pre-register no 
later than one week prior to the scheduled auction to allow sufficient 
time for the BLM to verify qualifications. Qualified bidders must meet 
the requirements of 43 CFR 2803.10:

[[Page 60906]]

     An individual, association, corporation, partnership, or 
similar business entity, or a Federal agency or state, Tribal, or local 
government;
     Technically and financially able to construct, operate, 
maintain, and terminate the use of the public lands you are applying 
for; and
     Of legal age and authorized to do business in the state 
where the right-of-way (ROW) you seek is located.
    Technical and financial capability may be demonstrated by:
     Providing documentation of any successful experience in 
construction, operation, and maintenance of a similar-sized solar 
facility on either public or non-public lands;
     Providing documentation on the availability of sufficient 
capitalization to carry out development, including the preliminary 
study stage of the project and the environmental review and clearance 
process; or
     Providing documentation of conditional commitments of 
Federal and other loan guarantees; confirmed power purchase agreements; 
engineering, procurement, and construction contracts; and supply 
contracts with credible third-party vendors for the manufacture or 
supply of key components for the project facilities.
    Pre-registered bidders will be confirmed and assigned a bidder 
number before the auction commences. Complete details and frequently 
asked questions on the screening and bidding process can be found 
online at: https://go.usa.gov/xMXRG.
    The BLM has determined a minimum acceptable bid for each SEZ. The 
minimum bid represents 10 percent of the rent value of the land for 1 
year under the BLM's solar rental schedule and is based on the 
interests acquired by a lessee in the SEZ. The minimum bid also 
includes an administrative fee of approximately $2.42 per acre to cover 
the BLM's costs of preparing and conducting the competitive offer. 
Minimum bids for the three SEZs are: Gillespie--$80,511; Brenda--
$30,728; and Agua Caliente--$78,728. The competitive offer will start 
at the minimum bid, and bidders may raise with subsequent bonus bids. 
The bidder with the highest total bid (minimum and bonus bid) at the 
close of the auction will be declared the successful bidder and will be 
offered a ROW lease within the SEZ subject to payment terms, outlined 
as follows.
    If you are the successful bidder, payment of the minimum bid and at 
least 20 percent of the winning bonus bid must be submitted to the BLM 
Arizona State Office by the close of business on the day of the 
auction. Within 15 calendar days after the auction, you must pay the 
balance of the bonus bid and the first 12 months acreage rent to the 
respective BLM field office overseeing management of the SEZ. Any 
required payments must be submitted by personal check, cashier's check, 
certified check, ACH bank draft, or money order, or by other means 
deemed acceptable by the BLM, payable to the Department of the 
Interior--Bureau of Land Management.
    The BLM will offer you a ROW lease if you are the successful bidder 
and you: (1) Satisfy the qualifications in 43 CFR 2803.10; (2) make the 
required payments listed earlier; and (3) do not have any trespass 
action pending against you for any activity on BLM-administered lands 
or have any unpaid debts owed to the Federal Government. The BLM will 
not offer a lease to the successful bidder and will keep all money that 
has been submitted if the successful bidder does not satisfy these 
requirements. In that event, the BLM may offer the lease to the next 
highest bidder; re-offer the lands through another competitive process; 
or make the lands available through the non-competitive application 
process found in 43 CFR 2803, 2804, and 2805.
    The administrative fee portion of the minimum bid will be retained 
by the agency to recover administrative costs for conducting the 
competitive bid and related processes. The remainder of the minimum bid 
and bonus bid will be deposited with the U.S. Treasury. Neither amount 
will be returned or refunded to the successful bidder(s) under any 
circumstance.
    If no bid is received for a SEZ, then no lease will be issued and 
the BLM may choose to make the lands available through the non-
competitive application process found in 43 CFR 2803, 2804, and 2805, 
or by competitive process at a later date. Any lease issued will be 
subject to the terms and conditions specified in 43 CFR 2809.18, any 
additional requirements identified in the site-specific environmental 
review documentation, and the following project specific stipulations:
    (1) The lessee will prepare the following management plans, if 
applicable, and submit them to the BLM as part of its plan of 
development (POD) for approval following the issuance of a lease for 
the Project and prior to the BLM issuing a Notice to Proceed (NTP) with 
construction:
     Bird and Bat Conservation Strategy;
     Decommissioning and Site Reclamation Plan;
     Dust Abatement Plan;
     Spill Prevention and Emergency Response Plan;
     Hazardous Materials and Waste Management Plan;
     Health and Safety Program;
     Groundwater Monitoring and Reporting Plan;
     Fire Management Plan;
     Lighting Management Plan;
     Integrated Weed Management Plan;
     Raven Management Plan;
     Site Rehabilitation and Restoration Plan;
     Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan;
     Site Drainage Plan;
     Traffic Management Plan;
     Surface Water Quality Management Plan; and
     Worker Education and Awareness Plan.
    (2) The lessee will comply with all relevant protective measures 
and design features established in the Approved Resource Management 
Plan Amendments/Record of Decision for Solar Development in Six 
Southwestern States (Solar Programmatic EIS) signed on Oct. 12, 2012, 
and Approved Resource Management Plan Amendments/Record of Decision for 
Renewable Arizona: Restoration Design Energy Project signed January 18, 
2013.
    (3) A Class III cultural survey will be required prior to any 
ground-disturbing activities. All historic properties found will be 
avoided or mitigated in consultation with State Historic Preservation 
Office.
    (4) Any mitigation resulting from an adverse effect to historic 
properties will be addressed through a Memorandum of Agreement as 
outlined in the Solar Programmatic EIS Programmatic Agreement.
    (5) Appropriate protection measures will be applied to existing 
improvements (e.g., canals and access to private lands) and rights-of-
way within the SEZ and adjacent to other ancillary facilities (e.g., 
gen-tie line(s) and substation) required for development of any leased 
parcels.
    (6) A 2-year grazing notification will be provided to all livestock 
permittees that will lose animal unit months to solar development, 
giving them 2 years to make any financial, business, or management 
decisions.
    (7) The lessee will compensate the grazing permittees for any range 
improvements affected or lost by solar lease operations.
    (8) The lessee will construct new fences that will continue to keep 
the allotments and pastures separated as needed to mitigate for the 
removal of allotment and pasture fences.
    (9) Rights-of-way for livestock grazing driveways may be granted 
through solar

[[Page 60907]]

lease parcels if requested by grazing permittees.
    (10) Any POD submitted will address mitigation and compensation 
strategies for impacts to livestock grazing, and any agreement with the 
affected grazing permittee addressing these mitigation and compensation 
strategies will be submitted to the BLM concurrent with the POD prior 
to the BLM authorizing an NTP with construction.
    (11) Following submission of a POD, BLM shall initiate project-
specific consultation with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service 
under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act. The outcome of this 
consultation may result in additional design considerations that the 
leaseholder would be required to incorporate into final project design, 
construction, and decommissioning plans.
    (12) The developer will be required to coordinate and confirm any 
stream alteration or Section 404 permitting requirements through the 
appropriate state or federal agency with jurisdiction.

(Authority: 43 CFR 2809)

Raymond Suazo,
State Director.
[FR Doc. 2021-24021 Filed 11-3-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-32-P