Willdan Designs Action Plan for New York City Government to Meet Emissions Reduction Goals

Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: WLDN) announced today that it has completed the development of New York City’s Local Law 97 (LL97) Implementation Action Plan. The implementation action plan recommends specific, scalable steps to achieve the goals set out in the legislation, and the City has committed a budget of nearly $4 billion over the next nine years to invest in New York City’s assets, facilities, and energy supply.

Passed in 2019, LL97 is among the most ambitious climate legislation in the U.S. and mandates unprecedented, near-term greenhouse gas emissions reductions for New York City’s portfolio of government and private buildings. A key component of LL97 is that it requires City operations to reduce emissions 40% by 2025 and 50% by 2030, compared to a 2006 baseline. Willdan worked with the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) to create an action plan to achieve these carbon emissions reduction targets.

The action plan calls for a broad set of interventions, including:

• investments in cost-effective emissions reduction opportunities;
• converting more municipal buildings’ heating to electric power;
• expanded solar installations to generate 100 MW of solar power on City properties annually by 2025;
• 100% renewable electricity to power city government operations by 2026;
• energy and emissions reduction projects at wastewater and water treatment facilities; and
• electric vehicles and renewable fuels for New York City’s vehicle fleet.

“These record investments reflect the City’s unwavering commitment to fighting the climate crisis,” said Dawn M. Pinnock, Acting Commissioner of the NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services. “Climate change is happening now, and city government must be aggressive in taking steps now to reduce emissions and break its dependence on fossil fuels.”

“The Local Law 97 Implementation Action Plan is the culmination of a year-long effort to outline a path forward for New York City to achieve the ambitious emissions reduction targets mandated by Local Law 97 of 2019,” said Anthony Fiore, Deputy Commissioner for Energy Management at the NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services. “The DCAS Division of Energy Management is grateful to the many stakeholders across the City, including all City agencies and the Mayor’s Office of Climate and Sustainability, for their partnership in this effort.”

“The creation of this plan showcases Willdan’s multi-disciplinary approach to projects,” said Tom Brisbin, Willdan’s CEO and Chairman. “The project management and plan development were led by our most recent addition to the Willdan family – Energy and Environmental Economics (E3) – due to their expertise in decarbonization planning. Our engineers had already been working throughout City buildings and provided insight on technical feasibility and technologies. And finally, our proprietary software applications – NEO and B3 – allowed us to rapidly and efficiently model and benchmark City buildings for evaluation.”

About the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services

The Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) ensures that all New York City agencies have the critical resources and support needed to provide the best possible services to the public. DCAS does this in part, through working with City agencies with needs in recruiting, hiring and training; providing facilities management for 56 public buildings; purchasing, selling and leasing city property; purchasing over $1 billion in supplies and equipment annually; and implementing conservation programs throughout City facilities. Follow DCAS on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

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. E3, a Willdan Company, develops long-term pathways for deep decarbonization and guides strategic decisions for utilities, regulators, developers, and investors as they implement new public policies and respond to technological advances. For additional information, visit Willdan's website at www.willdan.com. Follow Willdan on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this press release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. 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, 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 January 1, 2021. 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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