Microsoft Goodyear Campus: Microsoft launches new Azure region in Arizona

Microsoft just launched its new Azure cloud region in Arizona. The region would be made up of three facilities or Availability Zones. Also, the zones will be sited in Goodyear, El Mirage, and outside Phoenix. Microsoft said the reason for choosing Arizona for the Azure cloud data center is because it has an abundance of land, solar energy, and a very skilled workforce. Asides from that, Arizona has very favorable tax laws on data centers.

Microsoft also said it had to partner with Longroad Energy on its 150MW solar power plant to meet its sustainability goals. It also said it will use Renewable Energy Certificates to offset the energy its data centers use in Arizona. Finally, Microsoft said that the new data centers would use adiabatic cooling for around half of the year. Adiabatic cooling involves using outside air for cooling instead of water when the temperature falls below 29.4°C. It will also use an evaporative cooling system when the temperature is higher than 29.4°C.

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