WEST OCEAN CITY, Md.- A West Ocean City couple is using alternative energy to earn money from the power company.

Monty and Sara Lewis recently installed 22 solar panels on the room of their home, in addition to their 40-foot wind turbine that was installed several months ago.

The couple says they received their first bill with both the solar panels and wind turbines up and running, for June. They say they produced enough energy to power their entire home, and even receive a credit of about $10 from Delmarva Power.

The couple says it is all about energy independence.

"Just being able to provide the clean renewable energy from a source here on the property and not relying so much on coal-fired energy," said Monty Lewis.

He said that electric they do not use, goes back into the power grid.

However, the couple also says June was a cool month, so they did not use their air conditioners much, helping to cut costs.

The turbine and solar panels cost tens of thousands of dollars, but the couple says they hope to get several thousand dollars in energy grants to offset the costs.

Sara Lewis said they are investing in harnessing free energy all around them.

"When you realize the kind of energy that is there, that you can get for free basically, once you get the hardware established, it just makes such good sense," she said.

The couple also has a small wind turbine on their boat, and dries their clothes outside to help cut back on electric costs.