Italy to cap solar incentives increase-draft decree

ROME, April 10 (Reuters) - Italy plans to cap increases to solar power production incentives at an additional 500 million euros a year to bring production costs to a level equivalent with other sources, including non-renewables, a draft decree of new rules said on Wednesday.

Italy's solar power market, the world's second-biggest after Germany, has boomed in the past five years fuelled by generous incentives which are paid by consumers though energy bills.

However the government had been expected to cut back incentives that have grown rapidly and are expected to reach a 6 billion euros annual cumulative limit this year, instead of 2016 as previously expected.

(Reporting by Alberto Sisto in Rome and Svetlana Kovalyova in Milan.)