DOC; Mountain Administrative Support Center; Acquisition Management Division; 325 Broadway MC3; Boulder, CO 80303-3328

66 -- SOLAR TRACKERS SOL NRMGC000902019JW (CORRECTED) DUE 072399 POC Jacqueline Wright (303) 497-5282, FAX (303) 497-3163 E-MAIL: NOAA; MASC Acquisitions Management, Brenda.S.Summers@noaa.gov. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Air Resources Laboratory (ARL), is planning on purchasing five (5) solar trackers. Solar trackers are needed for long-term, uninterrupted surface radiation budget monitoring for climate research needs. The solar tracker must be capable of carrying up to a 30 lb. payload, and of stand-alone, automatic operation using 110-120 V 60 Hz line power. All electronics and firmware must be year 2000 compliant regarding the date, time, and ephemeris. The tracker should be capable of continuous solar tracking through 360 degrees in azimuth and 90 degrees in elevation accurate to plus or minus 0.30 degrees of the center of the sun's apparent position, at all latitudes, and for all times of the year. The transfer of stepper motor rotation to the two drive axes (azimuth and elevation) shall be accomplished directly by gears-no belts should be used in its mechanical operation. The tracker should have an active sun-seeking device to provide a check to the sun-tracking algorithm, and the ability to store solar position data that are reachable remotely by modem. To minimize the number of exposed cables external to the tracker, all processing must be done locally within the tracker, i. e., controlling computer, communications board, and stepper motor drivers, should be internal to the climate controlled body of the tracker. Because of the remote nature of the network installations the required routine maintenance must be minimal, and a manual reset of the solar tracker shall be completed by simply disconnecting and reconnecting the power. Following a power failure, the tracker shall automatically recover and continue tracking the sun. The solar trackers shall include the ability of shading of up to three ventilated Eppley-type pyranometers or pyrgeometers (models PSP and PIR) and the capability to accurately align at least three Eppley Normal Incidence Pyrheliometers. All components of the solar tracker must be able to operate accurately in weather extremes experienced from the tropics to polar regions, i. e., minus 50 degrees F to 120 degrees F, RH from 0 percent to 100 percent, wind speeds exceeding 50 meters/second (greater than 100 mph), and it must be protected from the elements accordingly. Scientifically, a primary purpose of the network that these trackers are to serve is to complement DOE's ARM Southern Great Plains (SGP) surface radiation budget network, which is a cluster of 24 closely spaced stations in central Oklahoma and Kansas. Both networks are meant for climate research and each measures similar parameters. Our national six-station network extends the ARM measurements to different climates of the U. S. For our solar tracker-dependent measurements to be exactly the same as those at the ARM SGP site, our network should have the same solar trackers as those used at the ARM SGP site. This will ensure that the same fraction of the sky is blocked for the diffuse solar measurement in both networks. No RFQ is available; however, interested sources may respond bysubmitting documentation that clearly demonstrates the capability to meet this requirement. Responses must reference Synopsis No. NRMGC000902019JW. This announcement/solicitation is being issued under the Simplified Acquisition Procedures, FAR Part 13 (NTE $100,000.00). In the absence of other qualified sources, it is the intent to award a sole source procurement to Kip & Zonen, Bohemia, NY. JACQUELINE WRIGHT, Purchasing Agent. Posted 07/09/99 (D-SN352170). (0190)

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0405 19990713\66-0016.SOL)