Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: WLDN) today announced that it has been awarded a Direct Install Program (the Program) contract as part of New Jersey’s Clean Energy Program™ (NJCEP). The contract term is for two years, with optional extensions. The Company expects that the contract will contribute approximately $5 million per year in revenue over the contract duration.

Willdan was chosen as the preferred Direct Install (DI) Contractor to implement the Program’s services in both Essex and Union counties. Willdan will provide complete program services including marketing, customer enrollment/application, on-site energy assessment, and the installation of energy efficiency technologies. The Program, which specifically targets existing small to medium-sized facilities, is intended to help New Jersey’s commercial, industrial, and municipal energy users reduce their facility energy costs by replacing outdated boilers, furnaces, and water heaters, lighting, lighting controls, refrigeration, HVAC package and split units, and water conservation and HVAC controls.

A leading provider of DI services, Willdan has delivered successful DI programs nationwide. “We thank the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) and NJCEP staff for selecting Willdan to be part of this ambitious program, and consider it an affirmation of our decision to expand our presence in New Jersey,” stated Willdan CEO Tom Brisbin. “Willdan has a broad array of service offerings, and a deep understanding of new and innovative technologies,” he continued. “We look forward to supporting New Jersey in reaching its energy savings goals as well as assisting the State’s energy customers in making strategic investment decisions related to their energy use.”

The Direct Install Program is one of the energy efficiency programs offered by NJCEP to help New Jersey residents, business owners and local governments save energy, money and the environment. The program offers free energy assessments to qualifying businesses and pays up to 70 percent of the retrofit cost for energy-saving measures.

About Willdan

Willdan provides professional consulting and technical services to utilities, public agencies and private industry throughout the United States. The Company's service offerings span a broad set of complementary disciplines that include energy efficiency and sustainability, engineering and planning, financial and economic consulting, and national preparedness. Willdan provides integrated technical solutions to extend the reach and resources of its clients, and provides all services through its subsidiaries specialized in each segment. 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, a slowdown in the local and regional economies of the states where Willdan conducts business and the loss of or inability to hire additional qualified professionals. Willdan's business could be affected by a number of other factors, including the risk factors listed from time to time in Willdan's SEC reports including, but not limited to, the Annual Report on Form 10-K filed for the year ended January 1, 2016. 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.