UK Treasury weighs cutting funding to GB Energy, FT reports

(Reuters) - Britain's Treasury department is weighing cutting funding plans for state-backed power company GB Energy in a spending review slated for June, the Financial Times reported on Friday.

Last year, the British government set up GB Energy, backed by 8.3 billion pounds ($10.73 billion), and envisaged it to be its primary tool to drive investment in renewable energy.

The company was expected to partner with the Crown Estate - which oversees the British monarch's public holdings - to bring 20-30 gigawatts of new offshore wind developments to the seabed lease stage by 2030.

The UK Treasury and Britain's energy department did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. GB Energy couldn't be immediately reached out for a comment.

One of the options that the Treasury is weighing is cutting the 3.3 billion pounds previously earmarked to fund low-interest loans via local authorities for projects such as solar panels on roofs and shared-ownership wind projects, the newspaper said.

The reduction in funding comes at a time when Britain targets to largely decarbonise its power sector by 2030 by reducing its reliance on gas-fired power plants and rapidly increasing its renewable power capacity.

Britain's deputy finance minister Darren Jones said in January that the government would conduct the first zero-based review of spending in 17 years. Financial support will only be given to departments that have met the requirements set out in the zero-based government spending review.

(Reporting by Kanjyik Ghosh; Editing by Sonia Cheema)