John Pierce Bio

John Pierce focuses his practice on the structuring, development, and financing of energy and infrastructure projects and the sale and purchase of the same. He represents clients in connection with power generation projects utilizing an array of traditional, renewable, and conventional energy sources, as well as related infrastructure such as terminals, port facilities, airports and other infrastructure. John also works with carbon mitigating credits, offsets and trading structures, the creation and application of carbon trading protocols and markets, carbon sequestration, other environmental attributes and mandates, and related market-based means to add value to certain energy projects. John’s practice is international in scope. He has been project counsel for the development of utility-scale solar projects in the U.S., the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. For example, he recently advised on the development and financing of wind farms and PV solar projects across the U.S. John was primary counsel on a 1,000 MW offshore wind farm in California, a 700+ MW offshore wind farm in Hawaii; similar offshore wind farm projects in Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Mongolia, and the Caribbean; a variety of PV solar and battery storage systems; the development of utility-scale solar thermal for steam injection projects in oil production fields; pump storage projects in California, Hawaii, Montana, and Washington; as well as electric vehicle infrastructure, and low carbon and renewable hydrogen production technologies and projects in Texas, California, Washington, Iceland, and Eastern Europe. Additionally, he has infrastructure project experience where he has counseled on the development of terminals, port facilities (bulk and container), airports, toll roads, terminals, refineries and associated pipelines, and industrial zones. P rior to joining the firm, John was a partner on the energy team within the corporate practice of a national law firm where he focused on the structuring, financing, and development of energy and infrastructure projects globally. John is committed to giving back to the legal community and beyond. He advises several nonprofits in Southeast Asia working on refugee issues and human rights matters, acted as counsel to Nobel laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and has advised the U.S. State and Commerce Departments on energy and political matters relating to Myanmar, Cambodia, Mongolia, and Vietnam. John is ranked as a Band 1 lawyer in Energy and Natural Resources (2021–2025) by Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business. He was recognized by The Best Lawyers in America® for Energy Law and Environmental Law (2025-2026). John was recommended by Legal 500 US in 2015 for Environmental – Transactional and Regulatory. He is a recognized thought leader and prolific speaker on issues related to renewable energy such as offshore wind, solar energy and storage, the landscape of biofuels (including efuels), hydrogen and derivatives such as ammonia, woody biomass, and carbon credit generation and sales, registries, trading, utilization, and sequestration. John is proficient in Burmese, Thai, conversational in Vietnamese, and has basic knowledge of Mandarin.