A Review of Solar and Wind Energy Resource Projection Based on the Earth System Model

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

This paper reviews the global photovoltaic and wind energy resource projection based on the Earth System Model. The following are my comments:

1. According to the abstract, “future PV potential is expected to increase in Europe, northern South America, and central China, while decreasing in northern Africa, the Tibetan Plateau, southern Asia, and northern North America” is just a conclusion of reference [25], and it shouldn’t occur in the abstract. Please revise it.

2. All abbreviations should be clearly defined at the first time of use.

3. All Figures and Tables should be cited in the manuscript. Please check it.

4. In the Figure 1, what is the unite of Z-axis?

5. In section 2, ““wind”, “wind energy”, “wind potential”, “wind generation”, “wind energy”, “wind energy”, “wind potential”, “wind generation”, “wind potential”, “wind generation”, “solar energy”, “photovoltaic”, “concentrated solar power”, “solar generation”, “solar potential”,” seems to have some errors. Please revise it.

6: The liiterature review section regarding the wind and PV is not enoygh, the following can be compared (not mine) 1:  Risk-averse restoration of coupled power and water systems with small pumped-hydro storage and stochastic rooftop renewables  

can be improved

Author Response

1.Already revised in the manuscript. See line 19-20.

2.Already revised in the manuscript.

3.Already revised in the manuscript. See line 50, 136-137, 198, 204, 257-258.

4.Figure 1 is a dual y-axis graph, with the left y-axis unit in MW (megawatts) and the right y-axis unit in percentage (%). There is no Z-axis.

5.Already revised in the manuscript. See line 117-119.

6.I have read the article you recommended and found that its content is well-structured, which enables readers to better understand and clarify the logic. I have further subdivided the wind and PV section. Additionally, I have added a small section to enrich the content.

Reviewer 2 Report

Please check the attachment.

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

There are many composition and grammar checks needed. Hence, the paper should undergo an English language check, mainly in the abstract and the paper's body. 

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Dear authors kindly find the following comment and questions:

1.        The abstract must be modified by clearly including the problem, method, result and conclusions of the study clearly. Please define the abbreviations when it comes first, for example CSP, ESMs in abstract section lines 17 and 21.

2.        Figure 1, why not you use the latest updated data like end of 2022/2023 data for wind and solar electricity capacity? What makes your review unique? Is using ESMs powerful enough than other tools? Additionally, clearly introduce your contents at the end of the introduction section.

3.         Section 2, please again define abbreviations when you write them first, not in the middle of the manuscript. For example, RCPs, SSP…. etc. I am not clear about Table 1. Why do you mix World, Regional, and country data together? Is that sample data? Please clarify more the way you collected and analyzed those data.

4.        Section 3, I think the whole idea is about reviewing the EMSs in detail. So, I recommend merging this section with introduction part and clearly identify your research gaps/ nobilities.

5.        Your summary is not supported by the data you analyzed by using ESMs tool why? All your summaries are not strong enough to predict the future perspectives.

6.        Your references are not well written e.g. References number 1,128, 142-149.

Author Response

1.Already revised in the manuscript. See line 17, 21.

2.As the IRENA report for 2024 has not been released yet, it is not possible to access the relevant data for 2023. Therefore, the latest available data is only up to 2022. My review focuses on the literature of the past five years, enabling a more accurate identification of current research trends in the field. ESMs can provide relatively accurate simulations of future long-term climate states. The main advantages lie in their ability to forecast over sufficiently long periods and to consider the interactions of multiple systems, thereby enabling more precise predictions. Introduction section has been revised.

3.The abbreviations have been defined in the manuscript. Table 1 presents the reference list for the review conducted in this study. Categorization by global, regional, and country levels is intended to provide a clearer understanding of the frequency of research conducted in each area. The methodology for collection and analysis has been described in the manuscript, primarily involving searches and filtering through three search tools mentioned in the manuscript.

4.The section has been merged and revised in the manuscript.

5.The conclusion section primarily summarizes the research findings obtained from the analysis of data using ESMs as documented in the literature. The future perspectives is also based on the research deficiencies and corresponding solutions proposed in the majority of the compiled literature, aimed at improving the accuracy of predictions.

6.Already revised and expanded this section in the manuscript. See line 1, 128.

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

The authors responded to most of the points raised in the reviewers’ comments, but they did not address some comments, which are essential to accept the paper. These include: 

1.   The authors indicated that the ''required data in Table 1 presents relevant research literature from the past five years, with the absence of studies from Egypt and similar regions due to limited research in those areas in recent years.'' It is not true, see these references:

·       Towards a sustainable energy future for Egypt: A systematic review of renewable energy sources, technologies, challenges, and recommendations. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clet.2022.100497

·       Egypt’s Massive 1.8-Gigawatt Benban Solar Park Nears Completion Sun-soaked Egypt’s first utility-scale PV power plant—one of the world’s largest solar installations—is coming online https://spectrum.ieee.org/egypts-massive-18gw-benban-solar-park-nears-completion

·       Electricity and Renewable Energy, The International Trade Administration, USA, https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/egypt-electricity-and-renewable-energy

·       Ersoy, S. & Terrapon-Pfaff, J. (2021). Sustainable Transformation of Egypt's Energy System. Book, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/357435303_Sustainable_Transformation_of_Egypt's_Energy_System/citation/download

·       Elshafey, S., Shehadeh, M., Bayoumi, S. , Pernía, A., Jose-Prieto, M., & Abdelmessih, G. (2018). Solar Thermal Power in Egypt. (Book), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/IAS.2018.8544513

·       Saifaddin G. (2023). Energy in Egypt - statistics and facts. https://www.statista.com/topics/7538/energy-in-egypt/#topicOverview

·       Energy Profile (2023). IRENA. https://www.irena.org//media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Statistics/Statistical_Profiles/Africa/Egypt_Africa_RE_SP.pdf

·       Renewable Energy Statistics 2023. IRENA.  https://www.irena.org/Publications/2023/Jul/Renewable-energy-statistics-2023

2.    The authors did respond fully to the Methodology revision as requested by the reviewer's comments, specifically the qualitative and quantitative approaches.

3.    The authors did not understand comments n. 11; hence, they need to address this.

4.    The paper must have a Results section and a Discussion section written clearly and not embedded. I understand the discussion is presented in sections 4, 5, and 6. Nevertheless, it should be used as a title.

5.   The manuscript still needs English revision; hence, the revised manuscript needs to undergo proofreading.

The manuscript still needs English revision; hence, the revised manuscript needs to undergo proofreading.

Author Response

1. The literature you have provided indeed sheds light on the development and importance of renewable energy in Egypt. However, the absence I mentioned refers to the lack of research analysis utilizing ESMs for predicting wind and solar energy in Egypt and similar regions over the past five years. The references you provided did not meet the three criteria I used for literature selection, so they were not included in the analysis. Relevant literature has been included in the analysis, such as references [105, 137]. Additionally, these regions have also been included in the study of regions like Africa and North West Africa, such as references [58,59,97...].

3.Already revised in the manuscript. See line 19, 114, 523. If we haven't yet grasped this issue and made the necessary improvements, could you perhaps describe it in a different way? Thank you so much.

4.Already revised in the manuscript. See line 232.

5.The manuscript has been revised in English. If there are still grammar or other issues with the English expression in any particular section, please kindly point out that section and the specific problems, and we will make targeted modifications accordingly.

Reviewer 3 Report

accept as present

Author Response

Thank you.