Significant growth in geothermal's contribution to the national energy portfolio requires reducing the risks and cost of defining resources, characterizing new classes of larger energy resources, optimizing management and expansion of known geothermal fields, and ensuring a path for technology growth into the future, in particular providing the science and engineering basis for conventional and enhanced geothermal systems (EGS). But all of this is predicated on an enhanced knowledge, and knowledge requires accessible data. Data are the underpinnings of science and engineering, the basis for investment decisions, and they are crucial for land and natural resource management. However, we as an industry, science, and nation have not done an adequate job of capturing and providing these scientific data to users (researchers, industry, state and federal agencies, and the public). "National Geothermal Data System" is designed to provide the core solution for the issues of data acquisition, management, maintenance and access.