The General Assembly finds and declares that it is desirable to obtain the environmental quality, public health, and fuel diversity benefits of developing new renewable energy resources and clean coal technologies for use in Illinois and to lower the cost of renewable energy resources and clean coal resources provided to utility consumers. The General Assembly finds and declares that the benefits of electricity from renewable energy resources and clean coal technologies accrue to the public at large, thus consumers and electric utilities and alternative retail electric suppliers share an interest in developing and using a significant level of these environmentally preferable resources in the State‘s electricity supply portfolio. The General Assembly finds and declares that encouraging energy efficiency will improve the environmental quality and public health in the State of Illinois.