Learn why one of the world’s leading authorities on energy and technology believes we will face critical power shortages soon if we don’t act quickly, and how Snake Tray products can be part of the solution.
Dr. Eric Schmidt is a former CEO and Chairman of the Board at Google and Alphabet, a recognized AI expert, and founder of the Special Competitive Studies Project (SPSC), a non-partisan US think tank and private foundation focused on technology and security.
In April 2025, Dr. Schmidt testified before the US House Committee on Energy & Commerce at a hearing entitled Converting Energy into Intelligence: the Future of AI Technology, Human Discovery, and American Global Competitiveness. He provided a stark warning about the future of US energy consumption and the state of our power grid given advances in AI. This article examines the implications of data centers’ insatiable appetite for electricity, resulting challenges facing energy providers, and how Snake Tray products can help overcome them.
AI is the Future But Our Power Grid Lives in the Past
AI is scaling at incredible speed. In just a few years the technology has evolved from “basic” AI to Generative AI, and we now stand at the cusp of ASI, or Artificial Super-intelligence. In this state, computers can execute self-improvement to become, in theory, according to Dr. Schmidt, smarter than the collective intelligence of all humanity and able to operate without human guidance.
This massive amount of computing power is going to take an equally massive amount of energy to run. By 2030, Schmidt predicts some hyperscale AI data centers may require up to 10 gigawatts of power – that’s ten times the production of the average nuclear power plant. Today, data centers account for 3% of total energy consumption. By 2030, Schmidt estimates AI could consume 99% of all electricity generated in the US. This current course is unsustainable; our power grid cannot keep up with demand.
Dr. Schmidt testified we need a dramatic increase in all types of energy production – fossil fuel/natural gas, nuclear and renewables. And we need it fast. New power plants and electricity delivery infrastructure take decades to build. The task is complicated by layers of regulations, permits and licenses that create more delays. Schmidt urged the Committee to put measures in place to cut red tape and remove barriers to construction to meet growing energy demands.
Snake Tray Helps Quench AI’s Thirst for Power
Snake Tray can’t cut federal government red tape (although we did convince the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) to modernize their compliance codes for cable trays). But we do offer several cable management solutions that allow both engineers and electricians who design and build out the grid to bring new energy production plants online faster. Because whether the power source is fossil fuel, nuclear, renewables, or pumping electrons into and out of battery storage systems, they all require cables to move electricity.
For utilities building new or expanding existing power plants, Snake Tray offers heavy duty, high-capacity solutions to speed construction of cable transmission pathways out to the grid or to a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS).
The Solar Snake Max XL™ family of utility-grade solar plant cable conveyance systems manages heavy cable loads for any application or environment:
● Hard Rail (pictured)
● Dual Messenger Wire
● Single Messenger Wire
● Water
● AI
● BESS
All Solar Snake Max XL versions employ Snake Tray’s patented above-ground cable conveyance system featuring cable separators called “clicks” to organize heavy loads of high ampacity DC cables. Free-air cable separation allows the heat of friction to dissipate into the surrounding air, saving power otherwise lost to bundled or trenched cables and allowing solar utilities to harvest up to 30-watt hours more per meter.
For hyperscale AI-enabled data centers, Snake Tray products bring power from the source – utility or privately generated – to their terminations.
The 653 Series Aluminum Cable Tray offers a lightweight solution for easier installation when building high-capacity AC power cable pathways overhead both outside and inside the data center.
Some data centers seek to offset their reliance on public utilities, increase capacity, and/or reduce power costs through private energy production. This usually involves installing solar arrays on the roof or in an adjacent property.
For the former, the 407 Series Solar Snake Tray is the world’s only weatherproof, hand-bendable cable conveyance that quickly and securely carries DC circuitry from rooftop solar panels to their terminations. Its patented “lobster trap” design ensures effortless outdoor cable installation while securing and protecting the cables from hurricane-force winds.
The prefabricated, weatherproof 801 Series Solar Mega Snake carries intermediate grade AC and DC feeder cables connecting combiner boxes to inverters. Separators provide NEC code-compliant free-air separation between cables to reduce derate.
For the latter, the Single and Dual Messenger Wire versions of the Solar Snake Max XL provide data centers with an affordable means to route high ampacity DC cables from adjacent solar fields to the interconnection area with minimal labor. These trenchless systems attach to any kind of vertical piling and hold cables up to 1250 Kcmil. The Single Messenger Wire system features an adjustable click system that can accommodate a variety of cable sizes in the same tier.
Finally, Snake Tray products bring power inside the building to create discreet cable pathways connecting every server and data storage cabinet.
The new Solar Snake Max AI is Snake Tray’s latest free-air cable management system specifically designed for AI-enabled data centers. These power-intensive environments require high voltage cables to reach deeper into the building. The Solar Snake Max AI maintains maximum energy throughput with unsurpassed flexibility as AC power is routed to every cabinet.
The 801 Series Mega Snake is optimized for indoor installations of heavy loads of data and power cables. Pre-manufactured turns, T’s and cross sections eliminate on-site fabrication, and its built-in suspension system removes the need for brackets and struts. Splice kits create the electric bond. Cable waterfalls, drop-outs and patch panels bring cables safely to connection points.
Snake Tray hand-bendable cable trays including the 201 Series, 401 Series, 454 Series Universal and 501 Series route low voltage power, data, voice, emergency lighting and security cables along walls, floors and ceilings. Installers can easily maneuver cable pathways around any obstacle and navigate changes in elevation/direction without tools or additional hardware. Built-in mounting rings provide the flexibility to suspend the trays from threaded rods or mount directly to any surface while maintaining proper bend radii and cable support.
AI Demands Power. Snake Tray Helps Deliver It.
For all society to enjoy the benefits of AI we must heed the advice of Dr. Schmidt: upgrade our energy production capabilities to meet increasing demands of AI-enabled data centers while leaving sufficient capacity to power our residential and commercial needs.
To do that we’re going to have to build a lot more power plants – fast. Snake Tray cable management solutions can help energy providers speed construction of renewable solar, nuclear and fossil fuel plants, lower costs, and maximize energy harvest. Contact us to learn how you can capture every last drop of power, because we’re going to need it.
