Standard Bank helps Potgieter Boerdery grow greener with solar panel project
Standard Bank partners with Potgieter Boerdery for sustainable solar solution
We partnered with Potgieter Boerdery to support their ambitions to switch to green energy and to become self-sufficient and independent from the grid by providing a holistic funding solution.
The context
Potgieter Boerdery, trading as Avoridge and Macridge, is a family-owned farm in Limpopo that grows avocados and macadamia nuts on the outskirts of Louis Trichardt. The farm is known for packing and marketing avocados at Avoridge and also for their macadamia processing facility at Macridge. At Macridge, macadamia nuts are processed for the export markets and value-added lines are available, such as cold pressed macadamia oil and roasted macadamia nuts. Potgieter Boerdery distributes avocado’s and macadamia nuts from its facilities to local markets in South Africa, as well as European, American and Asian Markets abroad.
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The problem
The farm's 2 packaging and processing plants were impacted by the unreliability of the local power grid. This, combined with aging and inadequately maintained infrastructure, placed significant strain on the farm's operations. The farm needed a sustainable and affordable form of energy that would power the factories and engineering plant, as well as the housing, staff living quarters and other farming activities.
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"As a processing-based business, we cannot function without electricity,” says Philip Potgieter, owner of Potgieter Boerdery. “Not only were we being challenged by loadshedding, but also by ageing infrastructure that was not properly maintained. Our diesel generators were taking strain due to the additional hours they were needing to operate, as well as the damage to our delicate electronic equipment due to the constant power interruptions." |
The solution
We partnered with the client to provide them with a holistic funding solution which would support the construction of a solar power plant. Potgieter Boerdery began its journey towards self-sufficiency in 2021 with an initial 400-panel solar installation, followed by a 500kWp expansion and battery storage in September 2023.
The system was installed by Louis-Trichardt-based firm Cois Elektries, which was the vetted supplier of Standard Bank, renowned for their rich technical expertise. This partnership accelerated the construction of the plant, which took approximately 3 months to complete. Had it not been for our holistic funding solution, this project would have taken an additional 4 months to reach commissioning and would have had severe cost implications.
The project was supported from both a financial and a technical perspective by our Commercial Asset Finance and Renewable Energy Solutions departments, respectively. The team’s sector specialists also worked closely with Potgieter Boerdery and Cois Elektries to ensure that the quality of the system and the backup service available were at the optimum level for what the client wanted to achieve.
The outcome
The switch to green energy has allowed Potgieter Boerdery to plan for a full year’s production in advance and expand operations by employing more people while enjoying a constant power flow with no restrictions.
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"This solar project has resulted in a huge improvement to our business – in fact, it has actually been life changing for all of us involved.” - Phillip Potgieter |
For more information about Standard Bank’s renewable energy solutions for business, visit
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