Willdan Awarded $9.8 Million in Turnkey Energy Savings Performance Contracts with California Department of General Services

Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: WLDN) announced today that it has been selected to provide $9.8 million in turnkey energy savings performance contracts for public facilities in California. These projects are the first to be awarded under Willdan’s master contract with the California Department of General Services (CA DGS), previously announced in 2017.

“These projects meet critical needs at each facility while significantly reducing energy consumption,” said Tom Brisbin, Willdan’s Chairman and CEO. “Willdan’s design approach and assistance securing $6 million in zero-percent financing will allow California to spend just $250,000 in capital for upgrades and allow the district office to avoid out-of-pocket costs entirely.”

The projects consist of energy-saving upgrades to the Elihu Harris building in Oakland and a district office building in San Diego. Elihu Harris is one of the CA DGS’ largest facilities, standing 24 stories tall and spanning 788,000 square-feet. The project is expected to be complete in the third quarter of 2020 and will provide $717,000 each year in energy savings from a comprehensive building management system upgrade, LED lighting and controls retrofits, retro-commissioning, and other facility improvements. The San Diego district office project is expected to save an additional $142,000 per year through lighting and comprehensive heating hot water upgrades.

About California Department of General Services

The Department of General Services acts as the business manager for the state of California. DGS helps state government better serve the public by providing services to state agencies including procurement and acquisition solutions, real estate management, leasing and design services, environmentally friendly transportation, and architectural oversight and funding for the construction of safe schools.

About Willdan

Willdan is a nationwide provider of professional technical and consulting services to utilities, government agencies, and private industry. Willdan’s service offerings span a broad set of complementary disciplines that include electric grid solutions, energy efficiency and sustainability, engineering and planning, and municipal financial consulting. For additional information, visit Willdan's website at www.willdan.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this press release that are not purely historical, including statements regarding Willdan's intentions, hopes, beliefs, expectations, representations, projections, estimates, plans or predictions of the future are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, the risk that Willdan will not be able to expand its services or meet the needs of customers in markets in which it operates. It is important to note that Willdan’s actual results could differ materially from those in any such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to, Willdan’s ability to adequately complete projects in a timely manner, Willdan’s ability to compete successfully in the highly competitive energy efficiency services market, changes in state, local, and regional economies and government budgets, Willdan’s ability to win new contracts, to renew existing contracts (including with its three primary customers and the two primary customers of recently acquired Lime Energy) and to compete effectively for contract awards through bidding processes and Willdan’s ability to successfully integrate its acquisitions and execute on its growth strategy. Willdan’s business could be affected by a number of other factors, including the risk factors listed from time to time in Willdan’s reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, the Annual Report on Form 10-K filed for the year ended December 28, 2018. Willdan cautions investors not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Willdan disclaims any obligation to, and does not undertake to, update or revise any forward-looking statements in this press release.

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