How do you use Arcade scripting to build dynamic energy web maps?

Arcade is a portable, lightweight, and secure expression language used to create custom content in ArcGIS applications. For energy professionals working with web maps, Arcade allows you to work with data in real time in ArcGIS, and you can use it to style and label your map, create informative pop-ups, and perform field calculations on your data.

Arcade is a scripting language that allows you to calculate new data values on-the-fly, like "calculate field" but without directly editing your database.

Key Points

• Arcade expressions execute dynamically in the browser, transforming energy data without altering source databases
• The language works across ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Enterprise, and mobile applications with consistent syntax
• Energy applications include normalizing consumption data, calculating power plant capacity metrics, and creating custom pop-ups
• Expressions use the $feature variable to access field values and perform mathematical operations, text formatting, and logical evaluations
• No programming background is required to write basic Arcade expressions for energy mapping projects

Understanding Arcade Scripting

Arcade is a portable, lightweight, and secure expression language written for use in ArcGIS. Like other expression languages, it can perform mathematical operations, manipulate text, and evaluate logical statements. Arcade was designed specifically for creating custom visualizations and labeling on the fly in ArcGIS.

What makes Arcade particularly valuable for energy mapping is its portability. An Arcade expression written in one ArcGIS application can be consistently interpreted in other ArcGIS applications. For example, an expression defining popup content in ArcGIS Pro can be saved to a web map and evaluated with consistent results in a mobile application. This means an energy analyst can create an expression to calculate electricity consumption per capita once, and that same expression will work identically whether viewed on a desktop workstation, in a web browser, or on a field technician's mobile device.

Arcade is unique when compared to other expression and scripting languages because of its inclusion of feature and geometry data types. The Arcade language was designed for use solely within ArcGIS. You cannot use it to build apps. It can only be executed within the context of a designated profile. These profiles—including visualization, labeling, and pop-ups—determine what capabilities are available in each context.

How It Works

Building dynamic energy web maps with Arcade follows a straightforward workflow:

1. Access the Expression Editor: In many of the places where you use data attributes in your maps, such as symbology, you'll find an option to use an expression. To use an expression for the map's symbology, first go into the Change Style options for the layer. Select the drop-down arrow to see the layer's attributes. At the bottom, click New Expression to open the expression window.

2. Reference Field Values: The $feature global variable allows you to access field values for features in a FeatureLayer. Each field value is also considered a global variable. This makes it easy to perform simple calculations using field values at runtime. For example, to calculate electricity consumption per capita, you would reference fields like $feature.ELECTRICITY_CONSUMPTION and $feature.POPULATION.

3. Write the Expression Logic: Keywords command Arcade to run a specific task or set of tasks in a statement. They are reserved words specifically kept for instructing Arcade to do things. Some common keywords are var, if, else and return. A simple energy calculation might look like: ($feature.ANNUAL_GENERATION / $feature.CAPACITY) * 100 to determine a power plant's capacity factor.

4. Test and Apply: You can build and apply Arcade expressions using the Arcade expression editor. The editor includes testing capabilities where you can run expressions against sample data to verify results before applying them to your map.

5. Reuse Across Contexts: Once you have created an expression within a layer in your web map, you can access that expression again when working on the same layer. The "Existing" tab that appears in ArcGIS Online allows you to choose an expression and it will auto populate into the expression window to easily reuse it. If you set an expression for your symbology and you want to reuse it in your popup, just go into the popup and find it within the Existing tab.

Common Energy Mapping Applications

Energy professionals use Arcade scripting for several practical applications:

Normalizing Energy Data: You can build an Arcade expression that returns the annual electricity consumption per capita by dividing the annual electricity consumption (in kilowatt-hours) by the total population. This will enable a meaningful comparison of electricity consumption across countries with widely different population counts. This type of computation is called normalization.

Accessing Multi-Layer Data: You can learn how to access data from more than one layer using FeatureSets and the Filter() function. You then use that data in some computations, address several cases of missing data, and use the expression in pop-ups. The Arcade expression is executed dynamically, without any effect on the underlying data. This is particularly useful for energy infrastructure analysis where you need to relate power plants to service territories or transmission lines to generation facilities.

Creating Dynamic Visualizations: In the visualization profile, Arcade allows you to calculate values for each feature in a FeatureLayer at runtime and use those values as the basis for a data-driven visualization. This is an alternative approach to creating data-driven visualizations based on a single field value in the layer. An Arcade expression may be passed to the valueExpression property in ClassBreaksRenderer, UniqueValueRenderer or any of the visual variables: color, size, opacity, and rotation.

Why It Matters

Arcade scripting transforms how energy organizations work with geospatial data by eliminating the need to constantly modify source databases. For those who have used it, there's no secret that it is changing the way people make their maps and work with data. What is incredible, is that you don't have to be a "coder" to do amazing things with Arcade. If you are, however, a coding wizard, Arcade is a powerful way to enhance your maps in new ways.

For energy utilities and renewable energy developers, this capability is particularly valuable. Energy data often requires on-the-fly calculations—converting units, normalizing by service area population, calculating capacity factors, or determining distance to grid infrastructure. Rather than creating new database fields for every possible calculation, analysts can write Arcade expressions that perform these calculations dynamically as users interact with web maps. This approach keeps databases cleaner, reduces data management overhead, and allows for rapid iteration when analysis requirements change.

Related Terms

FeatureSet: A collection of features from a layer that can be accessed and filtered within Arcade expressions, enabling cross-layer analysis in energy mapping applications.

Profile: The context in which an Arcade expression executes, such as visualization, labeling, or pop-ups, which determines what data and functions are available to the expression.

Global Variable: A reserved variable in Arcade (like $feature or $map) that provides access to external values during expression execution, essential for referencing field data in energy datasets.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Arcade expressions access real-time energy data?

Yes. The data is in real time, meaning the data values are constantly being updated. When you build an Arcade expression that references field values, it calculates results based on the current data each time the map loads or refreshes, making it suitable for monitoring applications like power plant output or grid conditions.

Do I need programming experience to use Arcade?

You do not have to be a programmer to incorporate Arcade scripts into your maps and apps. The expression editor provides built-in functions with documentation, sample code, and error checking to help users at any skill level create useful expressions for energy mapping projects.

Where can I find example Arcade expressions for energy applications?

There are many different places people have shared their Arcade to help others. Esri/arcade-expressions GitHub repository contains examples to use and also lets you share your own. Arcade Expressions and You ArcGIS Online group containing maps that use Arcade for symbology or popups. These resources include expressions specifically designed for power plant analysis, electricity consumption mapping, and renewable energy site assessment.

Last updated: July 10, 2026. For the latest energy news and analysis, visit stakeandpaper.com.