Concentrated solar power (CSP) technology is a promising renewable energy technology worldwide. However, many challenges facing this technology nowadays. These challenges are mentioned in this review study. For the first time, this work summarized and compared around 143 CSP projects worldwide in terms of status, capacity, concentrator technologies, land use factor, efficiency, country and many other factors. Further, the various challe. Concentrated solar power (CSP) technology is a promising renewable energy technology worldwide. However, many challenges facing this technology nowadays. These challenges are mentioned in this review study. For the first time, this work summarized and compared around 143 CSP projects worldwide in terms of status, capacity, concentrator technologies, land use factor, efficiency, country and many other factors. Further, the various challenges facing the spread-out of this system are highlighted in terms of the heat transfer fluids (HTF), various energy storage (ES) technologies, cooling techniques, water management, and the Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE). Also, various thermophysical properties of the HTF are compared within the applicable range of the CSP operation. At the end of the review, various hybridization technologies for the CSP with various renewable energy sources, including photovoltaic, wind, and geothermal, are highlighted and compared. The pioneering country in using CSP, leading concentrator technology, suitable ES technology, and efficient hybrid technique based on the LCOE are determined. The analyzed data in this study is essential for predicting the future of the CSP in the markets and its contribution to reducing global warming potential.••Concentrated solar powerThermal energy storageLevelized cost of electricityHybrid renewable energy systemsAround 600 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa lack access to electricity, and about 940 million rely on hazardous fuels such as firewood and charcoal for cooking. Most electric power generation systems do not store energy since doing so would be extremely expensive. The utilities must thus utilize more fossil fuel-burning facilities to ramp up or down as necessary to meet demand. However, this strategy is not ideal because these plants function more effectively at full power. To fulfill the demand for electricity demand effectively offset the shortage of energy sources, it is advised that renewable energy systems integrated with different types of energy storage systems be implemented. Due to the projected 5.8% rise in global power consumption in 2022, large-scale renewable energy projects are being installed all over the world. As a result, the percentage of renewable energy in the energy mix has increased significantly. However, additional renewable energy projects are needed to supplement or replace the lack of conventional sources of energy [4,5]. The percentage of renewables in power generation in the United States is predicted to rise by 23% by the end of 2050, as shown in Fig. 1-a. Further, Fig. 1-b shows the history and the projection of renewable energy sources in the US. It is expected that solar energy plays an important role in the US energy expected electricity production with a percentage of 51% followed by wind and hydroelectric power technologies [6,7]. Worldwide, Fig. 2 shows the electricity. CSP technology generates electricity by concentrating solar rays into a heat absorption receiver. It has been determined that CSP-based technology is appropriate for areas with a high Direct Normal Irradiation (DNI).There are four most common CSP technologies available in the markets. First, parabolic trough systems which consist of parallel rows of curved high-reflectance mirrors. Sometimes it can extend to more than 100 m long. The receiver tube is made of stainless-steel pipes (called absorber tubes). These tubes are coated with a selective coating to absorb the short-wavelength or high-energy solar radiation. Due to the solar irradiance absorption, the absorber tube temperature increases; therefore, it is insulated by a vacuum layer from the atmospheric condition. Inside the absorber tubes, different types of oil are commonly used as heat transfer fluid to collect the heat and transfer it to the energy storage units and the steam generator in the Rankine cycle. Some newer plants have significant thermal storage capacities.Second, Linear Fresnel reflectors (LFRs) Fig. (4-A), are similar to the parabolic trough, but they use linear rows of mirrors to reflect the sun rays onto a flat fixed receiver. LFR systems have a simple fixed receiver design with a low investment cost for direct steam generation. But it is less efficient than trough. In hybrid systems, both wind turbines and photovoltaics store their energy in the CSP plant's TES through an electric heater, as shown in Fig. 21, or in a separate energy storage system such as batteries to prevent electricity curtailment practices and dispatch electricity as needed. When there is a deficit in one kind of available renewable energy resources, other technologies, such as geothermal power plants, may operate in parallel with CSP plants to improve performance. The power generation from the PV and wind systems is recovered by an electric heating mechanism to warm the solar salt in the TES as soon as they start operating. The thermal energy from the CSP system and the electric heating device generated by the power rejection of the PV and wind systems are both stored in the TES. The TES's capacity might be enhanced in the meantime to store additional thermal energy during severe weather. To satisfy load demand and address the mismatch, the CSP system can dispatchable electricity in a flexible manner. Currently, there are two hybrid PV-CSP projects under construction in China and United Arab Emirates. Table 4 shows some of the specifications of these power plants.Table 4. Hybrid PV-CSP plants under construction. (Source: NREL).