Sunrun's Lynn Jurich will step down as CEO this month

Aug 5 (Reuters) - Sunrun Inc founder Lynn Jurich on Thursday said she would step down as chief executive of the pioneering rooftop solar company at the end of the month.

Jurich, the most high-profile woman in the U.S. solar industry, is leaving the position after nearly a decade in the top job. On her watch, Sunrun transformed from a scrappy startup in a niche industry into a publicly traded company with 600,000 customers.

But the company is not profitable, and the announcement came on the same day Sunrun reported a net loss of $213.4 million in the second quarter of this year. Its shares have fallen nearly 24% this year.

"Given our strong foundation and the positive financial and operational momentum underway, I believe now is the time to make this transition and welcome Mary as Sunrun's next CEO," Jurich said in a statement.

Mary Powell, the former CEO of Vermont utility Green Mountain Power and a Sunrun board member, will replace her. The company said it considered both internal and external candidates for the role.

Jurich, 42, will remain with Sunrun as executive co-chair of the board of directors, focusing on company strategy and partnerships. She will share that role with her Sunrun co-founder and Stanford business school classmate Ed Fenster.

Since its start in 2007, Sunrun has been instrumental in catapulting rooftop solar into the mainstream by allowing homeowners to pay for panels through a monthly fee, avoiding the technology's high upfront price tag.

More recently, the company has chased growth by pairing solar energy systems with home batteries and offering its network of customers to utilities as so-called virtual power plants that can be called on to boost grid reliability.

Sunrun shares closed at $53.45 on the Nasdaq. The stock has fallen 47% since hitting a 52-week high of $100.93 in January. (Reporting by Nichola Groom; Editing by Stephen Coates)