In time, CSP could surpass photovoltaic panels in terms of total power generated. A study by consultants Emerging Energy Research found that the CSP industry is growing quickly with 1.2 Gigawatts under construction as of April 2009 and another 13.9 GW announced globally through 2014 (via RenewableEnergyWorld.com). Most of the development to date has been in Spain with the U.S. close on its heels.

CSP has several key advantages. First, unlike solar panels, CSP continues to generate power even after the Sun goes down as heated liquid in an insulated chamber can continue to create power for a while after the heat source goes away. That's important because in many cities the top power consumption periods are just after dark in the early evening.

Second, CSP requires simpler materials and no toxic materials. Some photovoltaic panels are built with highly toxic cadmium telluride, which creates huge end-of-life liabilities for panels.

The downside? Super-hot water or steam doesn't work very well in urban locales. And large-scale CSP products require towers or large amounts of land: the one exception is a Micro-CSP provider called Sopogy, which is based in Hawaii. Sopogy builds small parabolic concentration troughs that capture heat but are only a few meters long. They can be mounted on roof-tops and used to generate power, run air-conditioning systems, or heat hot water. Sopogy can also link up arrays of its systems for more utility scale offerings.

No one expects CSP to overtake photovoltaics anytime soon and they will coexist nicely. There are no publicly traded companies in the space but watch CSP for an IPO within a year or two.

Alex Salkever is Director of Research at Piqqem.com, a stock prediction community powered by the Wisdom of Crowds.