FRANKFURT, Aug 14 (Reuters) - RWE spent more

than half of its investment budget in the United States in the

first half, its finance chief said on Thursday, as Germany's

largest power producer remains optimistic on the market despite

efforts to curb the growth of renewables.

Around 1.4 billion euros ($1.6 billion) of the 2.5 billion

in investments were spent in the U.S. in the first six months,

Michael Mueller told reporters after presenting first-half

results.

"We envisage that the expansion of onshore renewable energy

in the U.S. will continue, primarily due to the dynamic growth

in electricity demand," CEO Markus Krebber said.

($1 = 0.8564 euros)

(Reporting by Christoph Steitz and Vera Eckert, editing by

Thomas Seythal)