Background <p>Offshore wind energy is widely recognised as a key contributor to the green energy transition and sustainable development. However, as offshore wind development accelerates across the globe with plans for larger offshore wind farms, concerns are being raised about how to balance development and sustainability goals.</p> Main text <p>This systematic literature review focuses on identifying the sustainability-related tensions, dilemmas, and paradoxes emerging from the transition to offshore wind energy and the scaling up of its installations. Furthermore, the article synthesises sustainability concepts in offshore wind energy studies. The results of the study show that the development of offshore wind energy may spark tensions between economic, environmental, and social demands. However, the flexibility in defining ‘sustainability’ and the inherent paradox within the concept of ‘sustainable development’ may also intensify the competition between different sustainability demands.</p> Conclusions <p>This study contributes to the growing body of research on sustainability in renewable energy development settings by emphasising the necessity of adopting holistic, interdisciplinary approaches and alternative frameworks that transcend existing paradigms in order to advance sustainability research concerning offshore wind power development.</p>