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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Microsoft’s 2019 plan to build cloud data centers in Goodyear, Arizona, ultimately became Azure West US 3, which launched on June 15, 2021. The project did not end there: Microsoft continues building in Goodyear and nearby El Mirage, making the original announcement one stage of a longer Phoenix-area expansion rather than a new 2026 project.
What Microsoft announced in 2019
In April 2019, Microsoft confirmed that it had acquired two properties in Goodyear, west of Phoenix, for additional data-center facilities. The company said the sites would help meet growing demand for cloud and internet services in Arizona and the western United States.
Contemporary reporting by Data Center Knowledge tied the announcement to local planning documents. Those documents showed two proposed buildings at the airport-area property, while the site could accommodate as many as three additional buildings. Microsoft had not published a complete construction schedule for every planned structure.
Reported land purchases and planned buildings
| Site | Approximate size | Reported land price | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goodyear property near Phoenix Goodyear Airport | 259 acres | $48 million | Purchased in August 2018 |
| Second Goodyear property, about 10 miles away | 147 acres | $37 million | Purchased in April 2019 |
The same 2019 report described a first planned building of approximately 245,000 square feet and a second of approximately 243,000 square feet. The second building was not yet scheduled for development at the time. The reported prices cover land acquisitions only—not construction, electrical infrastructure, networking, servers, financing or later expansion.
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What “fifth western U.S. region” meant
The phrase “fifth US West region” was a historical description of Microsoft’s regional count in 2019. The count included:
- West Central US in Utah
- West US 2 in Washington
- West US in the San Francisco Bay Area
- US Gov Arizona, a restricted government-cloud region
Under that counting method, the planned commercial Arizona region would be the fifth western U.S. region. Commercial Azure and Azure Government are not interchangeable: US Gov Arizona serves government-cloud requirements, while West US 3 is a commercial Azure region. Microsoft’s current infrastructure listings show them separately on its global infrastructure page and in its regional product-availability document.
From Goodyear proposal to Azure West US 3
Microsoft announced on June 15, 2021, that it had launched West US 3, its Arizona Azure region. The company said the region was intended to serve customers in Arizona and the western United States. That launch confirms that the 2019 Goodyear plan progressed beyond a land purchase and preliminary site plans.
Microsoft cited four reasons for the location: proximity to customers, available land, solar-energy potential and a skilled workforce. Goodyear was also emerging as a broader West Valley data-center market; 2019 reporting identified projects pursued by other operators, including Stream Data Centers and Vantage Data Centers.
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Timeline of the Arizona expansion
- August 2018: Microsoft reportedly bought approximately 259 acres in Goodyear.
- April 2019: It reportedly acquired another 147 acres and confirmed plans for data-center facilities.
- April 22, 2019: Data Center Knowledge reported the planned fifth western U.S. Azure region.
- June 15, 2021: Microsoft launched the commercial West US 3 Azure region.
- October 2025: Microsoft said it operated data centers and was building new facilities in Goodyear and El Mirage.
- June 11, 2026: Data Center Dynamics reported that Microsoft purchased another 100 acres next to an existing Goodyear campus.
What West US 3 means for Azure customers
Potential advantages
- Regional latency: A Phoenix-area region can provide a shorter network path for users and systems in Arizona and parts of the western United States. Actual performance depends on the user’s location, network provider and application design.
- More deployment choices: Customers have another location for primary workloads, backups and multi-region designs.
- Commercial-cloud access: West US 3 is available to commercial Azure customers and is distinct from Azure Government infrastructure.
- Data-location planning: Organizations can evaluate a U.S. region closer to their users or dependent systems.
Limits and trade-offs
- Azure service, virtual-machine, GPU and preview availability varies by region. Check the current product-availability documentation before committing.
- A second region does not create disaster recovery automatically. Applications need replicated data, failover procedures and regular recovery testing.
- Cross-region replication, backup and data-transfer charges can materially increase operating costs.
- Geographic proximity alone does not establish regulatory compliance. Customers must verify the applicable service terms, compliance scope and data-processing requirements.
Power, water and community questions
Microsoft’s 2021 launch announcement said it worked with Longroad Energy on the 150-megawatt Sun Streams 2 solar project in Maricopa County. Microsoft described renewable-energy certificates associated with the project as offsetting electricity use linked to the new campus. It also announced water-conservation and groundwater-replenishment efforts in Arizona.
Microsoft’s later local materials make additional claims: newer West Valley AI data centers are designed to use no water for cooling and minimal water for employee use; Phoenix-area facilities improved water-usage effectiveness by 23% year over year in fiscal 2025; and the company intends to replenish more water locally than it consumes. These are Microsoft’s own statements, not independent assessments of total environmental impact. Renewable-energy certificates also do not mean a facility is physically powered by solar electricity every moment.
Microsoft highlights construction and operations jobs, tax contributions, local procurement and community investment. Residents and policymakers also weigh electricity demand, grid upgrades, water and groundwater effects, noise, lighting, traffic and the number of permanent jobs created. Microsoft’s Arizona community page presents the company’s position on those issues at local.microsoft.com.
How large is the continuing build-out?
Microsoft’s October 2025 Arizona fact sheet said new facilities were being built in Goodyear and El Mirage and projected approximately 2,050 construction jobs and 8.4 million construction hours. Those figures are projections that may change; they are not a final employment count.
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The reported 2026 purchase of another 100 acres next to an existing Goodyear campus indicates that the company’s Arizona strategy is continuing. It should not be confused with the original 2019 land transactions or treated as proof that every building shown in early plans has been completed.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Costs and region selection for businesses
There is no single “West US 3 price.” Azure charges depend on the service, SKU, consumption, reservations or other commitments, storage, networking and data transfer. Use Microsoft’s pricing calculator for a workload-specific estimate.
Before selecting West US 3, an organization should check:
- Whether every required Azure service and SKU is available in the region.
- Where users, databases and connected systems are located.
- Which secondary region will support disaster recovery.
- Availability-zone support for the specific service.
- Replication, egress and inter-region networking costs.
- Compliance, residency and contractual requirements.
- GPU or AI capacity, which can be constrained independently of ordinary compute capacity.
- Whether managed public cloud, colocation or dedicated infrastructure best fits the workload.
West US 3 can be a poor fit when a required service is unavailable, most users are far from the western United States, government-cloud controls are mandatory, cross-region transfer costs are unacceptable or failover has not been implemented and tested.
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Current status in 2026
As of 2026, the accurate description is: Microsoft’s 2019 Goodyear announcement became the commercial Azure West US 3 region in 2021, and Microsoft continues expanding its wider Phoenix-area data-center footprint in Goodyear and El Mirage. The original “fifth western U.S. region” wording belongs to the 2019 announcement and should not be presented as a new project today.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is West US 3 the same as US Gov Arizona?
No. West US 3 is a commercial Azure region. US Gov Arizona is a separate, restricted government-cloud region.
Did the $48 million and $37 million figures represent Microsoft’s total investment?
No. They were reported prices for two land purchases in 2018 and 2019. They exclude construction, equipment, power, networking and later expansion.
Does deploying in West US 3 automatically provide disaster recovery?
No. Regional resilience requires a separately designed and tested multi-region architecture, including data replication and failover.
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