This quote is also a red flag for me:

"For the last six months, driving home, I've been looking at leaves, and saying, 'I own you guys now,'" Nocera said.

Nocera sounds a bit manic.

More is learned from failures than from success. Biofuel projects face the same challenges as TDP did. Making sure the capital equipment is high quality means having supervising engineers are on site. Going for the lowest bid from contractors means accepting the lowest quality work. Not offending the neighbors with bad odors or too much truck traffic is a challenge that may add to costs. An unexpected rise in the feedstock or other inputs like enzymes or catalysts can be a killer. The rise in corn prices has stopped some ethanol projects. The rise in nat gas price is also a game changer. Biodiesel projects are subject to the costs for methanol and lye as well as feedstock cost. On the other end is having a product the market wants. The ethanol mandate has created a dubious demand. Big solar and wind projects can get power purchase agreements before construction begins but if it weren't for government involvement I wonder how many PPAs would be signed. I'm not saying that government involvement is a bad thing since almost every industry benefits from the way the government twists market forces. What I see for the biofuel industry is a need for either a guaranteed customer or they should create a vertically integrated system including growing the feedstock, extracting the oils, converting those oils into what the public uses, and creating a chain of retail outlets.