June 16, 2011. A reform of Italy's solar energy incentives scheme has put 1 billion euros ($1.41 billion) of financing for the sector at risk of renegotiation. Italy approved a long-awaited decree on the cuts in May, ending a period of uncertainty which had irked international investors and weighed on shares of major global solar companies. Italy's solar market, the world's second largest after Germany, has boomed since 2007 when the government boosted production subsidies but Rome has sought to cut incentives to help consumers who support the scheme through power bills. The decree aims to cap subsidies for solar developers at between 6 billion euros and 7 billion euros per year by the end of 2016, when installed capacity is expected to be around 23,000 megawatts. Italy's booming solar sector has attracted the world's biggest photovoltaic module makers such as China's Suntech Power Holdings Co Ltd, Trina Solar Ltd, Yingli Green Energy Holding Co Ltd and U.S. firms First Solar Inc and SunPower Corp.