In my view, the present government of T&T is using the data centre push to diversify our economy from dependence on oil and gas and downstream oil and gas products like methanol, to a more modern industrialised economy.
Data centres will consume large amounts of energy, but any economist will tell you energy consumption correlates with GDP growth. Likely, natural gas will be a major energy input in this process, but in the long term, there is hope to pivot to renewables. However, given the forex shortage in T&T, it would be impossible for the government to invest in renewables at a large scale without massive inflows of forex, which the data centre will help provide.
A 2016 engineering research paper by K Hall and G Shrivastavab entitled Marine Current Power Generation in Trinidad: A Case Study concluded that it was feasible to use the Serpent’s Mouth and the rapid waters flowing through the Bocas for power generation.
The engineering challenges in becoming a highly industrialised small island economy have already been solved by a nation with over 2,000 gigawatt-hours of solar energy production annually: Singapore, and these engineering solutions can be replicated.
The obvious model for a small island to become a rich industrialised economy is Singapore. Singapore is a tiny island with an area of 734 square kilometres; despite this, it boasts a population of over six million. T&T, by contrast, has a combined area of 5,128 km², with the island of Trinidad alone comprising 4,768 km².
Singapore has a GDP per capita of US$107,000, which is higher than the USA’s, which is US$95,000 and much higher than T&T’s of US$18,620.
Singapore has over 70 data centres that draw over 1.4 gigawatts of power. Singapore’s data centre sector produces between US$3 billion and US$4.5 billion in revenue. Given Singapore’s size, it is possible for T&T to aim to produce a similar amount of revenue in the coming decades and supplement these data centres with gigawatt-scale investments in renewables in the long term.
While not an engineer, I have discussed these issues at length with senior management in major energy firms who do business in Singapore and note that there is no environmental crisis in that country due to its strong regulatory environment and well-thought-out planning.
T&T, on the other hand, is lacking in the legal framework needed to manage a modern economy. Singapore’s Carbon Pricing Act, implemented in 2019, establishes a carbon tax on facilities emitting 25 ktCOe or more annually, covering power generation and large industrial sources. T&T has no equivalent legislation.
Singapore also mandates that industries recycle water and treat wastewater. Used industrial water is treated and piped back for use at commercial and industrial centres. This prevents water shortages and reduces the environmental impact of industry.
T&T needs to begin tabling more advanced legislation and overhauling its regulatory bodies to meet international best practice.
Basic cybercrime and data privacy legislation also need to be passed, as our Data Protection Act remains to be proclaimed in its entirety.
The TTPS also needs better resources and training to prosecute cybercrimes, as seen in the case of AG v AB and The Humanitarian Foundation for Positive Social Change, where damages were awarded against the State for failure to investigate child pornography crimes.
The news that the Sex Offender Registry website has crashed also raises serious concerns about the capacity of the TTPS to manage websites and databases. As first world countries begin using artificial intelligence to make policing more efficient, the TTPS is struggling to manage technology from the early 2000s even as the 2030s are approaching.
The first public online sex offender registry website was published in the USA in 1996. T&T became the smallest country in the world with a public sex offender registry law in 2019; however, this registry website has been offline for several months.
Singapore hosts the Interpol Global Complex for Innovation, a facility with over 140 staff, a digital forensics laboratory and a Cyber Fusion Centre serving 196 member countries.
This Interpol complex addresses the latest cybercrime threats via projects that provide law enforcement around the world with key tools. T&T hosts the headquarters of the Caricom Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS), making it possible for an upgraded TTPS cyber crimes unit to become a regional leader by working with Impacs.
The long delays in T&T’s legal system for both civil and criminal cases are also a concern, as environmental law will still require enforcement before the courts. Cases in T&T can easily drag beyond ten years in both the criminal and civil jurisdictions. In Singapore, many complex criminal trials can finish in two years due to strict case management timelines.
While the data centre push can be managed from an engineering perspective, a country with a crashed sex offender registry and long delays for convictions cannot yet replicate the success of Singapore.
