Happy hump day, everyone. There’s a ton to read about today, including: plans for a new solar energy plant in Taiwan; admission by BP of a fundamental mistake in the Gulf oil rig accident; and a big, new, cow-powered renewable energy project that is slated for construction in China.

President Obama is in California today, touring the facilities of Solyndra, a California solar-panel maker that last year received a $535 loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy.

Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell yesterday vetoed an energy bill put forth by Democrats, via the Hartford Courant: “[t]he proposal — which drew no Republican votes — would have created a state-run power purchasing division, which Rell said would increase costs. Energy committee co-chairwoman Rep. Vickie Nardello, D-Prospect, strongly disagreed Tuesday.”

In Texas solar news, it appears the Chinese solar-panel maker Yingli Green Energy (NYSE:YGE) can’t make up its mind over whether to build its new manufacturing plant in Austin or Phoenix, Arizona, via the Austin Business Journal. The proposed facility would the lucky host city represent 300 new jobs and an investment of nearly $20 million.

In related news, Yingli Green Energy and Trina Solar (NYSE:TSL), another China-based manufacturer of solar panels, both reported first-quarter profits, after reporting net losses for the same period a year ago. See YGE’s earnings overview and TSL’s earnings overview.

In Asia solar news, Taiwan Power Company — a state-run utility — intends to build the island’s biggest solar energy installation, via Bloomberg Businessweek. The five-megawatt solar power plant will be sited in the southern part of the island. Good pull quote: “[b]udget for it [the solar project] won’t be a problem.” If only we heard that more often…

In Gulf oil spill news, BP said a “fundamental mistake” may have been made just prior to the blowout that caused the oil rig, Deepwater Horizon, to catch fire and sink. There was a “very large abnormality” — a clear warning sign — prior to the accident. You can read all about it in a memo released by two U.S. lawmakers, via FT’s Energy Source.

What do you get when you mix a quarter-million Chinese cows, GE (NYSE:GE) and an Austrian biogas technology firm? A boatload of manure, 38,000 megawatt-hours (MWhs) of electricity a year, and significant emissions reductions, via GreenBiz. Oh yeah, and a partridge in a pear tree.

Finally, despite all the hype and promise, it seems almost nobody knows what the smart grid is.

That’s all for today. Thanks, as always, for reading. We’ll see you back here on Friday.