Who Gets the Power
Trinidad and Tobago signed agreements on Friday, July 11, 2026, paving the way for U.S. companies to begin groundwork for large data centers in the Caribbean nation, even as concerns mount over energy use and environmental strain. The memorandums of understanding with the Florida-headquartered Hummingbird AI Holdings and New York-based Ernst and Young LLP were signed by the office of Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, and the statement said these are the first such agreements with a Caribbean country.
The deal with Ernst and Young LLP sets out a framework for collaboration on developing large-scale data centers, with the company planning to “partner with third parties in the development” of a 300 megawatt data center. The agreement with Hummingbird AI Holdings lays out “preliminary cooperation, due diligence and coordination” for a proposed 150 MW AI infrastructure and data center facility. Those numbers aren’t abstract. The 300 MW center has a capacity of 300 million watts of electricity at peak load, and that kind of demand lands on a country already dealing with shortages in basic services.
Who Pays the Price
Renowned social activist Dr. Wayne Kublalsingh said he was worried about the energy consumption tied to the planned data centers. “The government is trying to present something which looks like development, but which is not development,” he said. That line cuts through the polished language of investment and partnership. The people living with the consequences are the ones already navigating a strained system, not the executives signing memorandums.
Trinidad and Tobago has long grappled with chronic water shortages and intermittent supply, and the source material says large, water-intensive data centers could place additional strain on an already overstretched system. The majority of the twin-island country functions on water schedules set by the state’s utility company. Most homes have water tanks because tap water can be as rare as once a week. In some communities, people have gone weeks without water being supplied by the state company. That’s the hierarchy in plain sight: decisions at the top, scarcity at the bottom.
What They Call Development
Data centers could account for nearly 3% of the world’s projected electricity use by 2030, with 935 trillion watt-hours, according to a recent United Nations University report. The report also says the environmental footprint of data centers already rivals some of the world’s largest countries. Trinidad and Tobago’s electricity supply has improved over the years, and while there are still power outages at times in parts of the country, they are rare. Even so, the planned facilities would add another heavy load to a system that ordinary people already depend on for daily survival.
The government also signed a third agreement with another American company, Pinnacle Steel and Vanadium Corporation, which recently acquired a local iron and steel plant. Government officials said the agreement allows for further talks on recommissioning operating the plant. The government said the three initiatives, combined, are expected to generate over 5,000 jobs. That promise hangs over the deal like a familiar sales pitch: jobs now, control later, and the costs pushed onto the public.
Persad-Bissessar has been a strong supporter of the Trump administration, and her office said the U.S. government played a role in facilitating the parties involved in the agreements. Speaking Friday night at a U.S. independence anniversary celebration ceremony hosted by the U.S. Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago, Persad-Bissessar said: “They’re going to invest here to work on data centers, two for data centers, and one to help us rejuvenate and rebuild our steel industry.” The language is neat. The machinery behind it is not. It’s a transfer of power dressed up as progress, with the state, foreign firms, and official ceremony all doing their part to make it look normal.