New York Times: Near the middle of a dusty construction site here stands a patch of land, about the size of two football fields, notable because it is empty. Duke Energy has high hopes for this two-acre plot: If all goes right, and there is a happy convergence of technology, money and federal energy policy, the construction project could become the first environment-friendly coal-fired power plant in the nation. The company is studying a method for capturing the carbon dioxide produced by …