Rachel Jones

With a focus on land development and renewable energy projects, Rachel advises clients at all stages of project development on public and private land. She guides clients through the local, state, and federal permitting and entitlement process, provides environmental due diligence for project finance transactions, and counsels clients with ongoing land use and natural resource compliance needs.

As part of CCN’s renewable energy team, Rachel helps renewable energy developers site and permit utility scale wind, solar, and battery storage projects across the western United States. Whether sited on public or private land, developers rely on Rachel’s land use, environmental review and natural resources permitting experience to ensure a smooth and efficient path to project approval. As former inhouse public agency counsel, Rachel also takes a pragmatic approach to project permitting, helping clients to anticipate and effectively respond to agency concerns. Her areas of expertise include environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act and the National Environmental Policy Act, land use entitlements under California's Planning and Zoning Law, project approvals under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, compliance with federal and state species protection laws, and wetlands and waters regulation under state and federal law.

As prior in-house counsel to a large Northern California water and wastewater treatment agency, Rachel also has deep expertise with water supply planning, water conservation, and water recycling. She brings this experience to bear in her work on private development projects, helping her clients devise creative solutions to water supply issues. Rachel also has extensive experience with the environmental review and permitting processes for large infrastructure projects such as dam seismic retrofitting and construction of new water treatment, storage, and conveyance facilities.

Advising multiple clients during U.S. Bureau of Land Management right-of-way approval process for utility scale solar and energy storage projects across the Western United States.

Advised a client during local permitting and environmental review process for large, controversial wind energy project in Southern California.

To accommodate structure of financial transaction, helped client obtain timely amendments to state and federal endangered species permits for wind energy project in Northern California.

Advised a client during local permitting and environmental review process for large solar energy project located on agricultural land in Southern California.

Provided environmental due diligence supporting project finance transactions for several utility scale solar and wind energy generation projects throughout California.

Advised a client during environmental review process for large residential development in Northern California requiring Clean Water Act Section 404 permit.

Advised client during environmental review and permitting process for a variety of water infrastructure projects.

Advised client during environmental review and permitting process for a variety of short-term and long-term water transfers.

Honors & Recognitions

Lawdragon 500 Leading Energy Lawyer, 2025