In 2009, National Grid and Ernst & Young published a report on "The Potential for Renewable Gas in the UK", which claimed that by 2020, biomethane should make up at least 5% of our gas supplies, and could be 18% at a stretch (nearly 50% of domestic gas). In the event, biomethane makes up 0.7% of UK gas supplies in 2020. The projections were absurd, and obviously motivated by commercial interest, yet they were widely cited, including by government, and influenced policy. We explore in this report the evidence that the projections were not credible at the time, and the impact of this successful rent-seeking effort.