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The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Eastern Region Acquisitions Division-Kansas City office intends to award, on a sole source basis, under the authority of FAR 13.106(b)(1), with Vaisala Inc. located in Louisville, KY, a purchase order for 15 of the Vaisala WXT536 all-in-one weather sensors.

The Government intends to utilize the authority under the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 13.106-1(b)(1), Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services will satisfy agency requirements, unless, as a result of this announcement, acceptable responses to this notice are received and a determination is made by the Government to issue a competitive solicitation. The Government intends to award a purchase order to Vaisala Inc. in in Louisville, KY.

Sole Source Justification:

This procurement is being processed as direct replacement sensors for units that were in the field for testing and were lost or damaged beyond repair in fiscal year 2022. These sensors will allow the NDBC to continue testing in the field to determine the survivability and any data issues that may be found during full-time use in the harsh marine environment.

This procurement is for the next generation Vaisala all-in-one weather sensor model WXT536. During the initial development of the SCOOP system all of the commercially available all-in-one weather sensors were evaluated for use on the SCOOP system (see attached evaluation). A very limited number of sensors met the NDBC technical requirements.

The NDBC purchased a set of sensors of both types for laboratory testing. Upon successful completion of laboratory testing additional units were purchased for field testing and both the Vaisala WXT520 and the Gill MetPak were commissioned for operational use with the SCOOP system. However, after yearlong deployments at sea the NDBC identified issues with both the Gill MetPak and the Vaisala WXT520. The NDBC identified wind data outages on the WXT520 that appear to be design related. Vaisala was not interested in investigating the cause of these outages as the model WXT520 was at the end of its lifecycle. Vaisala no longer sells the WXT520 sensor. The new model the WXT536 is currently under field testing as a possible operational sensor and it appears to have promising result. However, there has been some data outages that the NDBC is trying to identify the cause. The proposed configuration of the WXT536 was not available under a GSA contract.

These all-in-one weather sensors have been identified as a possible solution for the primary weather sensors for the new SCOOP marine weather observation system. These sensors replace the 10 units lost or damaged beyond repair in fiscal year 2022 and provides five spare units so that the NDBC can continue with the field testing to determine if this sensor can be used on all operational stations.

This special notice is not a request for competitive offerors and no solicitation package is available. However, firms that believe they can provide this supply may submit substantiating documentation in writing within fifteen business days of this notice. Responses can be sent via e-mail to tyran.claypool@noaa.gov. Documentation will be evaluated solely for the purpose of determining whether or not to conduct this procurement on a competitive basis. A determination by the Government not to conduct a competitive procurement, based upon response to this notice, is solely within the discretion of the Government. Oral communications are not acceptable in response to this notice. If no documentation is received, award will be made directly to Vaisala Inc. Government will give price preference to US Made Products.

DOC, Eastern Region Acquisition Division requires that all contractors doing business with this office be registered with the System for Award Management (SAM). No award can be made to a company not registered in SAM. For additional information and to register in SAM, please access the following web site: www.sam.gov. To register, all contractors must have a Dun and Bradstreet number. A Dun and Bradstreet number may be acquired free of charge by contacting Dun and Bradstreet on-line at http://www.dnb.com/eupdate or by telephone at (844) 229- 9757.

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