Power lines lead into the coal-fired Intermountain Power Plant outside Delta, Utah. The plant, which is getting new turbines that can burn natural gas and hydrogen, is at the center of an ambitious project to cut greenhouse gas emissions. George Frey/Getty Images A couple hours south of Salt Lake City, the open desert is a hive of activity. Hundreds of workers push gravel and pull cables around low-slung green buildings. Beyond a guard shack, a stream of pickup trucks buzz along a two-lane highway that fades into sagebrush. The workers spill into Delta, a nearby town of about 3,700. Motels and trailer parks are full. And at dinnertime, there’s a line inside El Jalisciense, a taco shop on Main Street. “If you watch the overpass, people coming into town at five and six in the evening, it’s just nonstop,” says John Niles, Delta’s mayor. Big companies — including a major oil and gas producer — have come to this corner of Utah looking for a new way to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change. But even with the backing of deep-pocketed corporations, it’s hard to fund innovative projects like the hydrogen plant that’s being built near Delta. So, the developers got help from the federal government’s Loan Programs Office, part of the Department of Energy that supports groundbreaking endeavors. The government has a long history of nurturing emerging industries and technologies , including the oil and gas drilling technique known as fracking, an early version of the internet and civilian aviation. However, funding for cutting-edge energy projects like the one in Utah could dry up if Donald Trump is reelected. During Trump’s first term, his administration tried to strip funding from the Loan Programs Office. The agency survived, but lending slowed dramatically . Conservative activists are […]