Zhu Gongshan, founder and chairman of Beijing-based GCL Poly Energy. [File photo]

Zhu Gongshan, founder and chairman of Beijing-based GCL Poly Energy, was crowned as the richest man in China's new energy industry with a personal fortune of 16 billion yuan (US$2.5 billion), according to the Hurun New Energy Rich List compiled by the Shanghai-based Hurun Research Institute.

The solar power industry churned out the most billionaires on the list, with 60 percent of those listed engaged in the sector, including two of the top three. Half of eight new entrants to the list came from the solar power sector.

Five people of the listed were bosses of Beijing-based new energy firms. Zhejiang and Jiangsu Provinces contributed?eight billionaires to the list; Guangdong and Hebei Provinces contributed six.

The Feng Huanpei family made its debut on the list in second place with a net worth of 13.5 billion yuan (US$2.11 billion), followed by Wen Yibo and his wife Zhang Huiming with a fortune of 7.2 billion yuan (US$1.12 billion).

The list, which followed the 2011 Hurun Rich List launched in September, was the first one of its kind released by the Hurun Research Institute.

China's business press carried the story above on Wednesday.