The General Assembly finds that utility services and energy represent a significant and growing cost to the State and elsewhere in the public sector of Illinois; that opportunities exist to significantly reduce the operating costs of government buildings and other facilities in Illinois through the application of energy conservation measures; and that it is in the public interest to provide for the planning and technical analyses necessary for cost effective energy conservation measures and for additional and alternative methods of financing energy related improvements in such buildings and facilities.
     It is therefore declared to be the policy of the State of Illinois to establish interagency and intergovernmental programs for the purpose of deploying cost effective energy conservation measures and technologies to minimize energy consumption and costs.