LONDON, May 8 (Reuters) - Britain's National Wealth Fund

will lend 600 million pounds ($802 million) to Iberdrola-owned

ScottishPower to help fund upgrades to the country's power grid,

they said in a joint statement on Thursday.

The announcement comes a week after Spain and Portugal

suffered widespread blackouts that industry experts say

highlight the need for massive investment across Europe's

electricity infrastructure.

Britain also plans to largely decarbonise its power sector

by 2030, which will require major grid upgrades to help

integrate new renewable plants, like wind and solar, into the

energy system.

"This investment will help to deliver clean power by 2030 by

speeding up grid upgrades - bringing cheaper, homegrown

renewable power into homes and businesses, while supporting

skilled jobs across the country," Britain's energy minister Ed

Miliband said in the statement.

The funding will help speed up seven of ScottishPower's

priority transmission grid upgrade projects, including its

Eastern Green Link projects 1 and 4, which will help transport

renewable power generated in Scotland to England.

The financing will also deliver grid upgrades in five

Scottish locations, including the building of new substations,

overhead line reconfiguration and the improvement of overhead

transmission cables to increase capacity and resilience, the

statement said.

Britain's National Wealth Fund was set up in 2024 to help

spur growth and invest in clean energy projects.

The investment is part of a 1.35-billion-pound financing

package, led by Bank of America ( BAC ) as sole debt arranger and

including Bank of America ( BAC ), BankInter, BNP Paribas, Caixabank,

Lloyds Bank, NatWest and Banco Sabadell as lenders, the

statement said.

($1 = 0.7484 pounds)