Book excerpt: Welcome to the 2014 Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) Program Accomplishments Report, covering research and development highlights from 2014. The LWRS Program is a U.S. Department of Energy research and development program to inform and support the long-term operation of our nation's commercial nuclear power plants. The research uses the unique facilities and capabilities at the Department of Energy national laboratories in collaboration with industry, academia, and international partners. Extending the operating lifetimes of current plants is essential to supporting our nation's base load energy infrastructure, as well as reaching the Administration's goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 80% below 1990 levels by the year 2050. The purpose of the LWRS Program is to provide technical results for plant owners to make informed decisions on long-term operation and subsequent license renewal, reducing the uncertainty, and therefore the risk, associated with those decisions. In January 2013, 104 nuclear power plants operated in 31 states. However, since then, five plants have been shut down (several due to economic reasons), with additional shutdowns under consideration. The LWRS Program aims to minimize the number of plants that are shut down, with R & D that supports long-term operation both directly (via data that is needed for subsequent license renewal), as well indirectly (with models and technology that provide economic benefits). The LWRS Program continues to work closely with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) to ensure that the body of information needed to support SLR decisions and actions is available in a timely manner. This report covers selected highlights from the three research pathways in the LWRS Program: Materials Aging and Degradation, Risk-Informed Safety Margin Characterization, and Advanced Instrumentation, Information, and Control Systems Technologies, as well as a look-ahead at planned activities for 2015. If you have any questions about the information in the report, or about the LWRS Program, please contact me, Richard A. Reister (the Federal Program Manager), or the respective research pathway leader (noted on pages 26 and 27), or visit the LWRS Program website (www.inl.gov/lwrs). The annually updated Integrated Program Plan and Pathway Technical Program Plans are also available for those seeking more detailed technical Information.