Fort Collins is embarking on a program that could help boost the local solar industry while meeting renewable-energy mandates.

Under the program, businesses will be able to sell excess electricity generated by their solar arrays to the city’s utility.

As part of the two-year city budget approved by the City Council last month, Fort Collins will begin to solicit bids from businesses interested in taking part in the program, said Steve Catanach, the city’s light and power manager.

The city has budgeted $1 million for the program over the next two years. The program is expected to grow in popularity and could cost $1 million annually after the second year.

Fort Collins would join several other Colorado cities that run similar programs, including Denver, Aurora, Boulder, Westminster and Lafayette, according to the Colorado Energy Office.

The program stems in part from a mandate by the state requiring utilities serving more than 40,000 customers to generate 10 percent of their electricity from renewable energy.

Bids submitted by businesses competing for these so-called 20-year purchase-power agreements are supposed to help keep costs of the program low.