CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Shareholders pleaded with Duke Energy's chief executive to re-evaluate the company's environmental initiatives at the utility's annual meeting in Charlotte.

Jim Rogers answered questions Thursday for more than an hour, finding himself mainly defending the Charlotte-based utility's plan to build a coal-fired generator in western North Carolina.

The meeting came a little less than a week after Duke Energy reported a 30 percent jump in first-quarter profit.

The company is building the 800-megawatt generator at its Cliffside Steam Station, about 50 miles west of Charlotte. The company plans to close four older coal plants when the project is complete.

Several environmental groups have asked a judge to halt the $2.4 billion project. They say the state air quality permit allowing the project violates federal law.