Abstract
Interest in developing offshore wind is rapidly increasing but remains in its early stages in many countries. This paper examines the role offshore wind could play in achieving Finland’s 2035 carbon neutrality goal while identifying potential trade-offs with other marine uses. Based on results gathered from expert workshops and interviews, we present a co-created vision of offshore wind in 2035. Rather than presenting offshore wind as an inevitable solution, the results clarify the circumstances under which its development may be considered socially legitimate and environmentally acceptable. The vision reframes offshore wind as a bounded and contingent form of infrastructure development, shaped by environmental protection, governance stability, and expectations of regional and societal benefit. By making these trade-offs explicit, the study provides a structured basis for incorporating offshore wind into long-term energy and marine infrastructure planning without assuming its automatic desirability. The findings underscore the importance of integrating offshore wind within broader marine governance frameworks and long-term planning processes including marine spatial planning, regulatory design, skills development, and supporting infrastructure investment. The process revealed that participatory futures methods can help articulate trade-offs, foster dialogue, and share knowledge between expert stakeholders, with limitations related to participant composition and limited public engagement.