Balls made of shredded notes at a biomass power plant in Yancheng city, East China’s Jiangsu province, on Nov 12, 2015. [Photo/Chinanews.com]

Biomass power plant prefers the notes to other biomass, because the burning notes have higher heat and lower water content than other biomass such as plant materials.

Besides generating electricity, the damaged notes can contribute to sustainable development.

"The ashes of the burned notes can be turned into bricks for constructing projects," said Zhu Hongwei.

Burning of the damaged notes continues as the People's Bank of China issued the 2015 edition of the 100 yuan bill on Nov 12.