US renewable energy firms were celebrating last night after the House of Representatives voted in favour of extending a package of green energy tax credits, but the legislation still faces a rocky path if it is to make it into law.

The House passed the bill by 236 to 182 votes, deciding in favour of repealing $18bn of tax breaks for big oil companies to help pay for the extension of a tax credit scheme for wind, solar, geothermal and biofuel projects.

The bill would also provide a major boost for other green technologies, giving consumers up to $4,000 in tax credits for buying plug-in hybrid vehicles, extending tax credits for some energy-efficient appliances and increasing tax breaks for gas stations that install alternative fuel pumps.

However, the legislation still has to get through the Senate, where a similar bill was blocked last year by the Republicans. The White House has also signalled that it could veto the bill, which it claims unfairly penalises US oil firms.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, said that extending tax breaks for the renewables sector, many of which are scheduled to lapse at the end of this year, is necessary to "provide business with the certainty necessary to make long-term plans to build viable and sustaining markets for these technologies".

A major coalition of US firms, environmental groups and investors organised by the Solar Energy Industries Association and including Wal-Mart, Dow Chemical and The Home Depot, also urged lawmakers to pass the legislation.

In a letter to Congressional representatives released ahead of the vote, the group warned that the incentives included in the bill "must be extended immediately to avoid significant harm to the developing clean energy industries in the US". It added that the technologies supported by the tax breaks would "play a vital role in reducing global warming pollution, creating new high-wage jobs in our country, and saving consumers and businesses money on their energy bills".