Top Cleantech Attorneys

On March 16, 2011, Cox Castle & Nicholson land use and renewable energy attorney Anne Mudge was named as one of California’s “Top Cleantech Attorneys” by the Daily Journal. In a profile on Mudge, the Daily Journal noted that she was the leading counsel on the world’s largest wind project, Alta-Oak Creek Mojave. Valued at $1 billion, the first phase of the project would include 320 wind turbines and 720 megawatts. As part of that project, the developer set aside 600 acres of conservation space for the desert tortoise and Bakersfield cactus. “This area will be set aside in perpetuity for the tortoise,” Mudge said. “”They will have that area forever.”

Mudge added that wind development and the tortoise are “pretty compatible.” The article noted that Mudge’s mantra as a land use attorney is to “avoid, minimize and mitigate” problems. With the explosion in renewable energy development in California, “I’ve never been more excited to be a permitting lawyer.”