PCLM-D-26-00117

Accuracy, Robustness and Comprehensibility – Challenges in bottom-up energy system models

PLOS Climate

Dear Dr. Prina,

Thank you for submitting your manuscript to PLOS Climate. After careful consideration, we feel that it has merit but does not fully meet PLOS Climate’s publication criteria as it currently stands. Therefore, we invite you to submit a revised version of the manuscript that addresses the points raised during the review process.

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We look forward to receiving your revised manuscript.

Kind regards,

Federico d'Amore, Ph.D.

Academic Editor

PLOS Climate

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Additional Editor Comments (if provided):

Please see reviewers' comments below. Also, please clarify novelty towards previously published research as for reviewer 2.

[Note: HTML markup is below. Please do not edit.]

Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

-->Comments to the Author

1. Does this manuscript meet PLOS Climate’s publication criteria? Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions? The manuscript must describe methodologically and ethically rigorous research with conclusions that are appropriately drawn based on the data presented.-->

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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-->2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?-->

Reviewer #1: N/A

Reviewer #2: N/A

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-->3. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available (please refer to the Data Availability Statement at the start of the manuscript PDF file)?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception. The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.-->

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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-->4. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS Climate does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.-->

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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-->5. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)-->

Reviewer #1:  This paper provides a holistic framework for the development of bottom-up energy system modelling. Considering the objectives of model accuracy, robustness and comprehensibility, the authors identify key elements of energy modelling as well as research gaps that limit the model applicability and the use of their results.

The paper is well written and clearly structured. The authors provide an extensive review of prior works, which forms provide a solid foundation for the proposed framework.

I have a few comments:

1. Addressing the issue of time resolution is very important in renewable-dominated systems, as noted by the authors. However, identifying climate-data consistent with the chosen time (and spatial) resolution is not trivial, especially given the interdependencies between nodes (e.g., renewable energy surplus or Dunkelflaute events). Both artificially generated datasets and historical data can be used, but each comes with limitations. Could the authors elaborate on how this challenge can be addressed in practice?

2. Uncertainty in the inputs. As mentioned by the authors in section 3.2.1, energy system models “rely on numerous assumptions and input data are inherently uncertain”. These uncertainties span multiple dimensions, including technological parameters, cost developments, inter-node interactions, and sectoral demand projections. While the paper discusses the trade-off between temporal and spatial resolution, a highly detailed model with inconsistent or uncertain inputs may still yield unreliable results. Could the authors expand on methods or frameworks to systematically address input uncertainty?

3. While the paper focuses on providing a conceptual framework, it may be beneficial to include a brief overview of existing modelling tools and their typical applications. This could help position the framework within the current landscape and make it more accessible to practitioners.

Reviewer #2:  The same authors have published a similar article in 2020. So, is this an updated version?

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032120302082

The major concern is the clarity or the general understanding of the content. In the introduction section, please add another section simply explaining a bottom-up energy system modeling, giving examples.

In the subsections in Section 3, please elaborate your arguments more clearly, providing simple examples wherever possible.

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-->6. PLOS authors have the option to publish the peer review history of their article (what does this mean?). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.

Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review?  If you choose “no”, your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public.

For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy.-->

Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: No

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-->Figure Resubmissions:

-->-->While revising your submission, we strongly recommend that you use PLOS’s NAAS tool (https://ngplosjournals.pagemajik.ai/artanalysis) to test your figure files. NAAS can convert your figure files to the TIFF file type and meet basic requirements (such as print size, resolution), or provide you with a report on issues that do not meet our requirements and that NAAS cannot fix.-->-->

After uploading your figures to PLOS’s NAAS tool - https://ngplosjournals.pagemajik.ai/artanalysis, NAAS will process the files provided and display the results in the "Uploaded Files" section of the page as the processing is complete. If the uploaded figures meet our requirements (or NAAS is able to fix the files to meet our requirements), the figure will be marked as "fixed" above. If NAAS is unable to fix the files, a red "failed" label will appear above. When NAAS has confirmed that the figure files meet our requirements, please download the file via the download option, and include these NAAS processed figure files when submitting your revised manuscript.-->

Accuracy, Robustness and Comprehensibility – Challenges in bottom-up energy system models

PCLM-D-26-00117R1

Dear Dr. Prina,

We are pleased to inform you that your manuscript 'Accuracy, Robustness and Comprehensibility – Challenges in bottom-up energy system models' has been provisionally accepted for publication in PLOS Climate.

Before your manuscript can be formally accepted you will need to complete some formatting changes, which you will receive in a follow-up email from a member of our team.

Please note that your manuscript will not be scheduled for publication until you have made the required changes, so a swift response is appreciated.

IMPORTANT: The editorial review process is now complete. PLOS will only permit corrections to spelling, formatting or significant scientific errors from this point onwards. Requests for major changes, or any which affect the scientific understanding of your work, will cause delays to the publication date of your manuscript.

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Thank you again for supporting Open Access publishing; we are looking forward to publishing your work in PLOS Climate.

Best regards,

Federico d'Amore, Ph.D.

Academic Editor

PLOS Climate

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Additional Editor Comments (if provided):

Reviewer Comments (if any, and for reference):

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

-->Comments to the Author

1. If the authors have adequately addressed your comments raised in a previous round of review and you feel that this manuscript is now acceptable for publication, you may indicate that here to bypass the “Comments to the Author” section, enter your conflict of interest statement in the “Confidential to Editor” section, and submit your "Accept" recommendation.-->

Reviewer #1: All comments have been addressed

Reviewer #2: All comments have been addressed

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-->2. Does this manuscript meet PLOS Climate’s publication criteria? Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions? The manuscript must describe methodologically and ethically rigorous research with conclusions that are appropriately drawn based on the data presented.-->

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

**********

-->3. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?-->

Reviewer #1: N/A

Reviewer #2: Yes

**********

-->4. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available (please refer to the Data Availability Statement at the start of the manuscript PDF file)?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception. The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.-->

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: (No Response)

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-->5. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS Climate does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.-->

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: (No Response)

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-->6. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)-->

Reviewer #1: The authors have adequately addressed my comments and concerns. I am satisfied with the revisions made and believe the manuscript is now suitable for publication.

Reviewer #2: All comments have been addressed.

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-->7. PLOS authors have the option to publish the peer review history of their article (what does this mean?). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.

Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review?  If you choose “no”, your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public.

For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy.-->

Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: No

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