Shell (NYSE:SHEL) says it has applied for environmental licensing with Brazil regulators to build six offshore wind farms with 17 GW of combined capacity.

With many city-dwellers unable to install solar panels, start-ups offer them the opportunity to invest in solar power production elsewhere in return for green electricity credits.

Two wind projects awarded in North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony with a total capacity of more than 45 megawatts. Construction will begin in a few months.