Britain to invest $838 million on public building energy upgrades

LONDON (Reuters) -Britain will invest 630 million pounds ($838 million) in clean energy upgrades such as solar panels and heat pumps on schools, care homes, community centres and other public buildings, the government said on Thursday.

The move was announced as many sectors grapple with high energy prices and the government seeks to curb emissions to help reach its climate targets.

The investments will lead to savings in energy costs of around 650 million pounds a year on average over the next 12 years, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said in a press release.

"High energy bills have been a big headache for schools, hospitals, leisure centres and other community facilities in recent years - so it's great to see them being helped to install energy saving measures and other green technology that will cut energy costs," Louise Shooter, policy manager at industry group Energy UK, said in the government press release.

Among the areas receiving funding are the Northumbria NHS Foundation Trust, which will receive more than 14 million pounds to replace fossil fuel heating at two sites, and the National Portrait Gallery in London, which has been awarded 5 million pounds to install heat pumps.

($1 = 0.7519 pounds)

(Reporting by Susanna Twidale; Editing by Paul Simao)