A Model for Finding a Suitable Location for a Micro Biogas Plant Using Gis Tools

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The section of discussion could be extended by improved by comparison of this research results to results obtained in other European countries.

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

The response is detailed in the uploaded file. 

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

The work deals with an interesting topic. Undoubtedly, the proposed solutions will be of benefit to potential interested parties. However, in order to enrich the article, the suggested guidelines should be considered.

It seems to me that the introduction could be enriched with additional items from the literature review, and to indicate trends in the creation and operation of biogas plants in Slovenia compared to selected European countries.

The work requires visual refinement. Data presentations should be organized in tables, e.g. tables 4, 7, and 11 should be combined, thanks to which the similarities and differences between the locations will be visible. Similarly, in the case of presentation of financial calculations in given locations. In addition, you need to refine the basic elements, that is the correct recall of the figure, eg Figure 1. text..., and finally a dot. There are no sources under the tables. In addition, in tables where DPP occurs, either year should be marked in the table head, or in the table itself, for example, more than 25 years, etc. In addition, is the flowchart intentionally using different shapes and different font sizes? It seems that a unified version would be better.

In the text, in the discussion, you used the sentences "In spite of this, larger livestock farms with quantities of slurry and manure represent a large point pressure on the environment" (lines 514-515) and "The carbon and environmental footprint of such behavior is large and unacceptable in the long term ”(lines 537-538). Please indicate in the text who undertook scientific considerations in this area.

Author Response

The response is provided in the uploaded file. 

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 3 Report

Your manuscript is relevant, and it focuses on an important topic in the context of the European Union. It is also correct to mention research limitations (modelling) at the end of the manuscript.

I agree with most of the findings, but I assume that the manuscript should be better placed in the context of the recent 2022 European energy crisis. So, on the one hand, you need to shed a little more light on the importance of local micro biogas plants at all (which, in my opinion, has become more valuable in the current energy situation not only in the European Union in general but also in Slovenia).

On the other hand, some sources should be presented more critically because they may be no longer entirely correct due to the current situation. For example, are you completely sure that the source of [36] (p. 20, p. 26.) is still relevant? As a result of the deepening energy crisis, the structure of energy use may change significantly by 2030 compared to the original plans of the EU. 

What about making 1-2 more specific, just shorter, and general professional policy recommendations for the stakeholders of national decision-makers?   

The size and resolution of some maps need to be increased even more to make them more understandable visually. You also need to have scale bars on the maps.

Author Response

We thank you to the reviewer for his valuable comments. 

As suggested we tried to highlight the possible role of micro biogas plants in the context of incoming energy crisis with the emphasis on the use of thermal energy as the main side products of those plants (l 644). This is also supported by the 2 additional sources (57 and 58). Furthermore, we tried to form 2 major policy recommendations as a result of our analysis at the end of the discussion section. 

As for the source 36, we agree that it might be less relevant, however, we decided to leave it for now since we tried to provide a complete literature review as the basis for our research.