The Ministry of Water Resources successfully conducted an experimental study on the use of solar power to desalinate brackish ground water at their Heelat ar Rakah camp, a remote location some 900 km south of Muscat, the capital of Omen. The system comprises components for pre-treatment of pumped well water to separate hydrogen sulphide. acid dosing to correct the pH, cartridge filtration, a solar powered reverse osmosis unit, and a reject-water evaporation pond. The solar powered system comprises a 23.2 m(2) solar photovoltaic generator with a peak capacity of 3250 W-p, a boost charge battery of 200 Ah at 48 VDC, a charge controller, a sine-wave inverter of 3000 VA with an output of 230 V, 50 Hz, and necessary controls and instrumentation. The design water output of 5 m(3)/day during 5 h (of each day) was achieved, with the output sometimes exceeding 7.5 m3/day. The average cost of production is estimated at US$6.52/m(3) over the 20-year lifetime of the equipment. The study has demonstrated that solar-powered reverse osmosis systems are particularly appropriate to remote locations that have limited or no access to supply services such as fuel, power or potable water.