The House voted 263 to 171 in favour of the tax breaks, which – before being given new life in the bailout package — had been stalled in a dispute with the Senate over how to fund them.
Along with credits for biodiesel fuel and for buyers of electric cars, the provision extends the life of the renewable-energy tax credits for solar and wind energy, which were due to expire at the end of this year.
However, many environmentalists were not in favour of the package because it included tax-credit extensions for refineries that process oil from shale or tar sands.
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