In the coming weeks a region will be selected as the energy capital of the UK - leading to more than £1bn of investment during the next ten years and the creation of thousands of jobs throughout the Government's Energy Technologies institute project. Deborah Johnson looks at the North-East's bid and why its backers are confident this region is well placed to win.

AS a sector that will lead the way in global economies for decades and an area predicted to grow by more than 200 per cent over the next ten years, renewable energy is a phenomenon.

Regions across the UK and countries across the world are keen to reduce carbon emissions to halt climate change.

However, while many countries are launching a bid to increase renewable energy resources, the North-East is already ahead of the game.

Industry-leading energy facilities and more than £6bn of investment has made the region the biggest exporter and exploiter of energy resources in the country, with £100m of further investment planned.

The North-East is well placed in the race to land a £1bn prize for being chosen as the headquarters of the Government's Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) project.

As well as becoming the official energy capital of the UK, the North-East's bid team estimates thousands of jobs would be created.

Announced in last year's Budget, the ETI will be the UK's main energy research centre and aims to make the country the global leader in the field.

The project, which will be funded by the public and private sectors, will have an "epicentre" for research and five or six "spokes" sites around the country.

Five regions have been shortlisted, including consortiums from the Midlands, North-West, Scotland and Sheffield. The final two bids will be selected on Thursday and will put their cases to a selection panel early next month, with the final decision due in the first week of October.

The North-East bid team - which consists of Newcastle, Durham and Northumbria Universities, the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) on Teesside, and the New and Renewable Energy Centre (Narec), in Northumberland - says the North-East is already at the forefront of the world's energy sector. It is a fact that could be decisive.

With regional development agency One NorthEast and MP Nick Brown, Minister for the North-East, among its strongest supporters, the region's bid is tipped for success.

Mr Brown said he ranked the North-East's bid at the top of his priorities.

Professor Paul Younger is co-ordinating the campaign.

He said: "The North-East really is the ideal site for this project and would make us the energy capital of the UK. We have here a unique cluster of energy facilities you can't find anywhere else in the world.

"Any one facility, or any one of us in the bid on our own may not be quite so impressive, but as a cluster we are globally unrivalled.

"The array of expertise - very significant expertise in most cases- and facilities in such a compact area is something you can't find anywhere else.

"This area has deeper roots in energy science and engineering than any other region in the world.

"The first global fossil fuel export industry was established here at the end of the 16th Century and now we lead the UK in bringing bio-energy, hydrogen technologies and geo-thermal energy to market."

But Prof Younger said there is more that can be done.

"This is about research, development and, importantly, demonstration.

"Let's get ideas out there. Let's get these ideas that are coming close to market but aren't quite there yet and take them to the next level, into the marketplace. The challenge academically is now doing something of regional relevance but with global reach, and that is very exciting.

"Already in this region, over £100m is going to be spent in research and development during the next five years, irrespective of whether or not our bid is successful.

"But it would be in the ETI's interest to take advantage of the huge array of expertise and facilities we have and use them to help the UK make the kind of advances in this sector it really wants to."

From the biofuels on Teesside, to the wind and geothermal power in Northumberland and the emerging Science City in Newcastle, the North-East's energy facilities are well spread.

That means the whole region would benefit if the North-East is successful.

It is proposed that the scheme's centre would be Newcastle University's Devonshire Building, which has won praise and international awards for its low carbon footprint.

Mr Brown, also MP for Newcastle East and Wallsend, said: "There is no region in this country that can show better commitment to the energy sector economy than our region.

"This is the project I think should have top priority. It is the thing I would advocate the most to the Government, not just because it is my job to stand up for the North-East, but because this bid has been so thoroughly put together and is strong in all the elements needed.

"The region is speaking with one voice. The phenomenon of global warming is now well understood and something has to be done now.

"We are an advanced industrial nation and have been at this a lot longer than the more newly-emerging economies and are a relatively wealthy country, which places an obligation on us to punch above our weight.

"The objectives of this ETI programme are to help develop innovations and technologies, looking at ideas to help practical applications to specific problems, and the North-East is ideally suited to this role."

While Prof Younger is confident in the strength of the consortium's bid and is buoyed by the support shown from across the North-East and beyond, he said there was no room for over confidence.

"It is always a huge error to believe your own popularity," he said with a smile.

"I honestly believe we have a credible, plausible case, but we absolutely have to guard against complacency.

"Whatever happens we will not allow ourselves to be complacent, or even despondent. We will move forward."

BACKERS OF REGION'S BID

Durham University, led by Vice Chancellor Chris Higgins

Newcastle University, led by bid co-ordinator Professor Paul Younger

Northumbria University, led by Vice Chancellor Kel Fidler

Centre for Process Innovation in Wilton, Teesside, led by director of advanced processing Dr Chris Dowle

New and Renewable Energy Centre (Narec) in Blyth, Northumberland, led by chairman Dr Alan Rutherford

Supported by regional development agency One NorthEast, led by Pat Ritchie, assistant chief executive for strategy

AND THE BID'S RIVALS

Midlands Consortium - Universities of Nottingham, Loughborough and Birmingham

North-West Consortium - Universities of Manchester, Lancaster and Liverpool, with the North-West Development Agency (NWDA)

Energy Technology Partnership of Scotland - Universities of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, St Andrews and Heriot-Watt

Sheffield University, backed by the city's Advanced Manufacturing Park.

Industry leads the UK marketTHE North-East leads the way in the UK's renewable sector - and in some fields on a global scale - thanks to several major projects.

The region is home to Europe's largest concentration of biofuels businesses on Teesside, including the UK's biggest biodiesel plant, and the largest bioethanol plant.

Projects to be developed during next decade include Newcastle's Science City, the Geothermal Research Education and Training Institute, and the Centre for Renewable Energy from Land - totalling £200m worth of investment.

Research institutes include the Centre for Process Innovation and Energy and Materials Technology Centre in the Tees Valley, the New and Renewable Energy Centre and energy research facilities in Durham, Newcastle and Northumbria universities

County Durham-based Romag's photovoltaic glass, PowerGlaz, has become a market leader in Europe.

And construction of the UK's first offshore windfarm in 2000, near Blyth, Northumberland, together with innovations in tidal power systems by Tyneside company SMD Hydrovision, have created an impressive renewable portfolio.