Elmira Syzdykova

The implementation of innovative renewable energy projects is designed to meet the growing electricity demand and reduce carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. In order to avoid resource dependence of the economy and meet the demand for electricity in remote areas of Kazakhstan, the development of renewable energy sources is urgent. The purpose of this study is to analyze the effectiveness of the implementation of existing mechanisms for the implementation of innovative renewable energy projects through auctions. Moreover, it identifies their shortcomings and offers proposals for improvement. The analysis uses data from the Kazakhstan Bureau of National Statistics on renewable energy sources, namely alternative energy sources such as solar and wind power plants, excluding biogas. The methodology provides for the assessment of projects implemented through auctions for 2018–2021, taking into account such indicators as the dynamics of the number of wind and solar energy projects, their capacity, the percentage of auction price reduction for a specific year. The paper discusses the mechanism for conducting auctions of solar and wind electricity, which, through the auction organizer, connects authorized bodies and investors. The main indicators of auctions for individual years are noted, and the main shortcomings of this mechanism are identified. The analysis of barriers to innovative renewable energy project implementation revealed the presence of contradictions in the price regulation of renewable electricity, the lack of market pricing mechanisms, and the unpreparedness of the energy infrastructure for integration with renewable sources.

Acknowledgment
This research is funded by the Science Committee of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Grant No. AP13268750).

Type of the article: Research Article

Abstract
Public-private partnerships are a principal vehicle for infrastructure finance, yet their institutional correlates are poorly measured. This study examines how tax and customs digitalization and the oversight of PPP contracts relate to PPP deal flow, with Kazakhstan as a case. Customs digitalization is measured by WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement commitments and realized implementation in the UN survey, tax digitalization by electronic filing and payment rates, and oversight by contract-management and supreme-audit scores. Poisson and staggered-adoption models use 359 observations across 83 low- and middle-income economies (2020–2024), larger and more PPP-active than the 50 excluded, and 803 across 81 WTO members (2015–2024). Legal commitments to digital customs procedures show no association with financial closures, nor do electronic tax filing and payment. Realized implementation of electronic duty payment is associated with about 0.4 log points more closures per level; the two-year lead is insignificant, and the estimate loses significance without China, India, and Brazil. The three customs measures thus distinguish perceived trade-logistics performance, formal commitment, and realized transactional implementation. Contract-management regulatory quality (β = 0.023, p < 0.01) is associated with closures through accounting for PPP liabilities and the presence of a regulator, whereas post-project audit and supreme-audit oversight are not. In Kazakhstan, customs digitalization was complete by 2019, the 2021 amendments followed the national audit of PPP obligations, and termination rates differ across regions, not cohorts. State audit of budget execution reaches PPP obligations directly, whereas special-purpose audit applies only where the state partner is a quasi-public entity.