Abstract A renewable energy powered seawater reverse osmosis desalination plant was explored in this study to identify the feasibility of producing freshwater from seawater without the production of greenhouse gasses and harmful pollutants that can damage the environment. Access to freshwater, especially in developing countries in more deprived and isolated areas, is very low and a daily struggle for a lot of communities. In this study a model for a small scale SWRO desalination plant was identified and simulated on MATLAB Simulink. Models from past work on reverse osmosis, solar photovoltaic and wind turbine systems were analysed and a model for each where selected to be integrated into the simulation. The principles that were implemented in the simulation of the RO system included a solute-diffusion theory, transport, mass balance and concentration polarisation principles. A steady state, simultaneous model for a single stage reverse osmosis system was produced and validated against similar models that were discussed in the literature. To power this SWRO module, a hybrid of solar and wind energy sources was selected as the most suitable due to installation and costs advantages. A solar panel was modelled using Kirchhoff’s current laws and single-diode principle and the power output was determine using a fixed voltage maximum power point tracking method. The 20.5kW wind turbine model was model using Betz’s law and power coefficients. The overall capital expense that was identified for this system was approximated to be around £125,200 and an analysis carried out determined that it would take around 4.67 years for the system to pay back itself from producing fresh water if it were to operate in a 24 hour basis throughout the year.