WASHINGTON — Senators moved ahead Wednesday on legislation to replace one-quarter of the nation's gasoline with ethanol and set a goal of cutting gasoline consumption nearly in half by 2030.

Coal-state lawmakers tried to promote liquified coal as a motor fuel substitute, but their effort stalled amid a debate over global warming.

The energy bill, passed by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on a 20-3 vote, would require a sevenfold increase in ethanol production, to 36 billion gallons per year, by 2022. The proposal would authorize loan guarantees and other incentives for ethanol research and plant construction.

Senate leaders have said they would like to take up the bill before Memorial Day as the first major energy initiative since Democrats took control of Congress in January.

The measure would establish an overall goal of reducing future gasoline use by as much as 45 percent below what it otherwise is expected to be in 2030. That would happen through a combination of more biofuels, such as ethanol, and production of more gas-electric hybrid vehicles and other fuel-saving measures.

The centerpiece of the bill is replacing gasoline with ethanol. Ethanol currently is made from corn. Future sources include cellulosic feedstock such as switchgrass, a hardy prairie grass in great abundance, and wood chips and corn stems.

The Senate bill includes requirements for more efficient appliances and light bulbs, and supports production of "plug-in" gas-electric hybrids that are less dependent on fossil fuel.

Reflecting the bill's wide bipartisan support, eight of the committee's 11 Republicans joined all 12 Democrats in sending the bill to the full Senate.