COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – The Columbus area is among the top data center markets in the United States, according to a recent report.  Data centers are physical facilities that store computing equipment and a company's digital data, according to Amazon Web Services. Although computer data is inta ngible, it still requires physical space to store it, as seen when a phone runs out of storage. In recent years, there has been an increased need for data centers driven by the growth of technology such as artificial intelligence, and numerous centers have flocked to central Ohio. ‘Intel is almost a secondary thing:’ Licking County grows despite delays Real estate company Cushman and Wakefield recently released a report on data centers in America, ranking markets based on their combined operational capacity, or how much power their centers can draw to run their equipment. The figures in the report are based on the second half of 2024.  The Columbus region took the No. 3 spot, with 1.8 gigawatts of operational capacity. A gigawatt is a unit of electric power that is equal to one billion watts. One gigawatt is enough energy to power about 750,000 homes. The top data center hub in the country was Virginia (5.9 gigawatts), followed by Portland/East Oregon (2 gigawatts). Completing the top 5 was Phoenix at No. 4 (1.5 gigawatts) and Dallas at No. 5 (1.4 gigawatts). ...read more read less