On 10 July 2026, the Government of Trinidad and Tobago announced three memoranda of understanding with United States companies, including two proposals for large-scale artificial-intelligence data centres. Ernst & Young LLP is associated with a proposed 300-megawatt facility, while Hummingbird AI Holdings LLC proposed a 150-megawatt facility that could eventually expand to 500 megawatts. The Government stated that the MoUs establish a framework for collaboration and due diligence rather than final development approval, and that technical, environmental and regulatory assessments would be completed before construction.
Government officials subsequently identified the Debe Special Economic Zone as the intended location and said that purpose-built ponds and, later, desalination facilities would prevent the projects from affecting residential and commercial water supplies. Debe residents, environmental advocates and technical experts nevertheless raised concerns about the absence of prior public consultation and publicly available information on water, electricity, land use, environmental effects, project costs, data protection and cybersecurity.
On 12 July, conservation researcher Syam Nath launched a Change.org petition asking the Government to suspend approvals until independent environmental, water-resource and infrastructure assessments are published and subjected to public consultation. When checked on 13 July 2026, the petition displayed 11,459 verified signatures; this number is changing rapidly. The situation also has implications for the enabling environment for civil society, as the lack of early transparency and structured consultation limits CSOs’ ability to access information, participate meaningfully in decision-making processes and hold authorities accountable.