LAHAINA, Maui — The lighthouse at Lahaina Harbor has become the third in the state to switch to solar power.

Coast Guard Senior Chief Petty Officer David Garrett and his crew from the Coast Guard Aids to Navigation Team in Honolulu pulled the electric plug on the 93-year-old lighthouse on Tuesday, ending years of reliance on Maui Electric Co. power sources.

Garrett said new developments in light-emitting diode, or LED, technology have made the solar conversions possible.

He said the switch to solar power is being evaluated for every navigational aid throughout the island chain that relies on shore-based power. "The energy saving is one part but the continuity of operations is the main goal: If power goes out these lights will not," Garrett said.

The Lahaina Lighthouse stands on the site of the first lighthouse in Hawai'i where, in 1840, King Kamehameha III ordered a 9-foot-tall wooden tower to be built as an aid to navigation for the whaling ships that anchored off Lahaina.

The lamp at that time was fueled with oil, and a man was stationed at the tower at night to ensure it stayed lit. The tower was increased to 26 feet in 1905 and rebuilt with the present tower in 1916.