A delegation is visiting the North-East today to assess the region's bid to be at the forefront of the UK's billion-pound clean energy development programme.

If the bid is successful, it could mean the region will be able to reclaim the title of "energy capital" of the country - only two years after deep coal mining ceased, with the closure of the last pit.

Experts predict that geothermal, wind, solar and tidal power and bio-fuels will be the boom industries of the future, along with new ways of using fossil fuels such as coal without causing so much harm to the environment.

Bid leader Paul Younger of Newcastle University, the grandson of a Durham miner, said: "King Coal may no reign here but he has polished up his crown ready for his successors - Prince Clean Energy and Princess Sustainability."

The North-East has already made a shortlist of five to host the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI), which will spearhead national research and development - vital if the UK is to meet its commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions and tackle climate change.

At Durham University, scientists are testing the next generation of wind turbines in the on-site wind tunnel, which collects and analyses data on their effectiveness in adjacent computers.

Dr Rob Dominy, a reader in thermodynamics and fluid mechanics in the university's School of Engineering, said the prototype "vertical axis" turbines were about a metre high and, unlike many turbines, rotated regardless of wind direction.

He said: "One advantage is that they are almost silent, so if you started putting them around buildings there would be no issues about humming."

Dr Graham Hillier, director of fuel cell applications at the Centre for Process Innovation, at the Wilton Centre in Redcar, said: "As well as all the traditional energy sources, the region is nurturing new energy options."

Prof Younger, HSBC Professor of Energy and Environment at Newcastle University, said: "If we are selected to host the ETI, the region will have the chance to re-establish itself as the energy capital of the UK, with clear potential to create hundreds of high quality jobs.