The United States Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) intends to solicit, negotiate and award on a sole source basis a purchase order with RM Young Company for the procurement of fifty (50 RM Young Anemometers for the National Weather Service (NWS), National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) at Stennis Space Center, MS.

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 RM Young Company for the procurement of proprietary Anemometers for the NWS, NDBC Division based on their compatibility in form, fit and function with already existing systems.

The RM Young propeller wind monitors technology uses magnetic induction for measuring wind speed which requires no energy input. Essentially you get the wind speed for free with respect to power requirements. Further, the directional portion of the sensor only requires 0.6 mW of power. That is 100 times less power requirement than an ultrasonic anemometer. This low power wind measurement is imperative in a battery operated remote buoy station. The propeller anemometer also provides for the measurement of wind gusts over 100 m/s where no ultrasonic anemometer technology can currently measure in that range. The NDBC helped develop the R.M. Young propeller anemometer which is now considered the industry standard. Further, the R.M. Young Company is willing to work with all customers in developing cables, connectors, and mounts that meet their needs. No other propeller anemometer available has the reliability of the R.M. Young propeller anemometer. Hence, the R.M. Young model 05103-1 anemometer was selected as the anemometer for the TAO refresh system. The NDBC now has a complete TAO network populated with these 015103-1 wind monitors.

The RM Young 05103-1 is provided with the cable and connector required to match current TAO cabling. The 05103-1 also provides a pulse output for wind speed as a result of the magnetic induction technique for the measurement. The selection of another manufacturer’s wind sensors could result in $100K of engineering efforts to rework the hardware and firmware of the TAO system and the NDBC wind tunnel testing equipment to accept different connections and output formats. Further, due to TAOs climate study the new sensor would need to be tested side-by-side the RM Young 051063-1 for a year to develop the transition equation to ensure there are no step or abrupt changes in the general wind speed and direction trends. This year long side-byside testing could cost more than $100k as it would require a co-located buoy at several locations.

Manufacturers that propose a solution using other than RM Young Anemometers must furnish detailed specifications and descriptions to demonstrate their capability to provide the required supplies that satisfy the Government’s needs. To be considered, interested parties must be able to demonstrate their ability to provide comparable anemometers that meets the specific characteristics outlined above. Capability information shall include, at minimum, name, telephone number, address of customers for which you have previously furnished the required supplies, and a detailed narrative that describes your ability to provide the required supplies as specified. The Government will give price preference to US made products. Interested parties must respond via email to Nikki.radford@noaa.gov prior to the closing of this notice.

The NAICS code for this requirement is 334511. The government intends to solicit and negotiate with the only known source (RM Young Company) that can provide the required anemometers. This is not a request for quotes or proposals and there is no solicitation available at this time. The Government reserves the right to solicit quotes based on the receipt of affirmative responses to this posting without further notice. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government.

Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to open competition to businesses other than RM Young Company.

All contractors doing business with this Contracting Office (Eastern Acquisition Division – Kansas City) must be registered with a valid Unique Entity Identification (UEI) number with the System for Award Management (SAM) website. Vendors can register with SAM at the following website https://www.sam.gov.