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With oil approaching $150 a barrel, nearly everyone in Congress agrees that tax incentives for wind and solar power should be extended beyond their expiration date at the end of the year.

But, partisan bickering over how to pay for those tax cuts has led to an impasse in the Senate, and has opened the possibility that incentives to develop and use alternative energy sources will soon die.

It is a situation that led environmentalist Robert Kennedy Jr. to declare Congress "brain dead" on energy policy.

U.S. Rep. James McGovern, D-Worcester, said he supported the tax incentives when a bill to extend them passed the House.

He said the House bill promotes clean energy while addressing the federal budget deficit by eliminating tax loopholes for hedge funds as a way to offset the revenue lost through the energy tax breaks. House Democrats operate under a policy called "pay as you go," which means all spending increases or revenue reductions have to be paid for so they will not increase the budget deficit, he said.

"I support clean energy, and I also think it's reasonable to get our fiscal house in order and not add to the deficit and debt," he said.

The legislation has been held up in the Senate, where Republicans have threatened to filibuster it because of the off-setting tax hikes. It takes 60 votes in the Senate to close debate and get a vote on a bill, but support has fallen just short of the needed 60.

Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement that Republicans support clean energy and the tax incentives, but do not want tax increases to pay for them.

He said in a letter to the Democratic leadership that because the bill would extend existing temporary energy tax incentives and are not new tax cuts, they do not need to be offset.

If there were no tax increases included in the bill, it would pass overwhelmingly because both Democrats and Republicans agree on the goal for alternative energy, he said.

U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., said the uncertainty over whether the tax incentives will be extended is causing potential problems for alternative energy companies, including those in Massachusetts.

He said firms such as General Compression of Newton, which does extensive business with Mechanolgy of Attleboro, depend on the tax breaks.

"We've got hundreds of clean energy companies in Massachusetts that are counting on us to keep these tax breaks alive," he said in a statement to The Sun Chronicle.

"Our state's clean energy sector employs some 556 firms and more than 14,000 people. Tax incentives will help protect our environment, keep jobs in our state and help bring new technologies and businesses to Massachusetts," he said. In the meantime, news reports have found wind and solar companies looking to concentrate their businesses on Europe, rather than the United States, because Europe offers more generous incentives.

JIM HAND covers politics for The Sun Chronicle. He can be reached at 508-236-0399 or at jhand@thesunchronicle.com.