The authors developed a new strategy for the simulation of Horizontal-Axis Wind Turbines (HAWTs) with swept blades, with the aim of reducing the computational cost associated to higher-order approaches such as Lifting Line Theory (LLT).  The proposed method combines a near-wake model, based on the use of analytical solutions and approximations, with a far-wake one exploiting the Blade Element Momentum (BEM). An extensive testing was performed on a selected large size turbine for different blade degree of sweeping and the obtained predictions were compared with those of the BEM and two high-order methods, i.e. LLT and blade-resolved CFD, in terms of blade spanwise load distributions.  A promising accuracy improvement is observed with the new method compared to traditional BEM.

The reviewer believes that the topic and the activity is very interesting, innovative and worthy of investigation. The adopted methodology is rigorous and clearly detailed throughout the whole paper, which is very well presented. Some specific considerations:

• The authors claim that the developed method is computationally more efficient than the Lifting Line one, which is taken as a reference in the present work. It would be helpful for the reader to support this statement with some numerical data, for instance the computation time required by each method for the performed simulations

Based on the aforementioned comments, the publication of the paper in the present form is strongly recommended.

The paper presents a cost effective method for the modeling of swept rotor geometries, which can be used in routine aeroelastic certification simulations for wind turbines without penalizing overall computational cost. The model is based on previous developments by the authors, of a coupled near-far wake model, in which the near wake part modeling is based on a semi-analytical vortex filament representation while the far part is based on standard BEM. The authors provide a detailed description of the adaptations made to the original near wake model while they present improvements with respect to previous implementations.

They verify their model predictions by comparing load results of different swept blade shapes against a medium fidelity option (lifting line) and a high fidelity option (fully resolved CFD). They also convincingly demonstrate the improvement attained in the prediction of loads with respect to standard BEM implementations, which neglect wake induced effects due to wake filaments shifted position.

The paper is very well written. It is an original contribution, presenting a newly developed model, which can improve the fidelity of aeroelastic analyses. Along with some very few and minor comments which can be found in the accompanying pdf I would only recommend the authors to assess and present the overall effect on the predicted Cp by the new method in comparison to standard BEM. This is especially important given that, as well known and also highlighted in the results, standard BEM significantly underestimates the effect of the curved geometry on power output.

Otherwise, the paper can be published as is.

There is one last comment but relevant to the bound vortex effect in LL methods which is not directly linked to the present model (therefore the authors are not asked to answer). I had to refer to the torque paper in order to understand the hybrid method you apply in order to calculate the bound vortex effect. In my opinion the application of a small core radius solves the problem and saves you from the complexity of the proposed idea. Our experience shows that in filament wake representations a very small core radius is needed in order to enhance the stability of the simulation. The same is good enough for filtering singularities due to the bound vortex.