Strengthen with Sufficient Premise Questions - - Question 2
Photovoltaic power plants produce electricity from sunlight. As a result of astonishing recent technological advances...
Maybeillgetlucky April 23, 2019
Problem with the question
Isnt there an assumption being made that the electric power plants will be able to meet the same level of demand as the traditional plant?
I thought that was the logical leap in the argument.
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The passage states that as a result of technological advancements, producing electricity through photovoltaic power plants is one-tenth of what it cost 20 years ago. It also says that the cost of producing electricity through traditional plants has increased. The argument concludes that photovoltaic power plants therefore offer a less expressive approach to meeting demand for electricity than do traditional power plants.
This argument describes changes in the costs of these two types of plants (photovoltaic becoming cheaper, while traditional becoming more expensive), but it doesn’t ever says how the costs of the plants compare to one another. It also doesn’t give us any numbers about the actual costs for us to do that comparison ourselves. Therefore, we have no way to conclude what type of power plant is the less expensive option even though we have some information about the cost trends. There is the possibility that producing electricity through photovoltaic plants was SO expensive, that even though it has decreased to 1/10 of its cost, it is still substantially more expensive than traditional plants.
The question asks you to identify the answer that would allow you to properly draw the conclusion of the argument if it is assumed. This argument relies upon the assumption found in Answer D. Answer D provides the information we need to about how the costs of the two types of plants relate to one another. Answer D says that 20 years ago, the cost of producing electric power at photovoltaic plants was less than 10 times the cost of producing power at traditional plants. If this is assumed, we know that photovoltaic plants are the cheaper option now that their prices have dropped to one-tenth of what they were 20 years ago.
You raise a good point. How do we know whether photovoltaic plants could meet the demand currently met by traditional plants? While this may be a real concern not addressed in the argument, it is not a critical assumption to the conclusion. The conclusion is about what types of plant is less expensive. The assumption found in Answer D is the much more central assumption needed to properly draw the conclusion found in the passage. If you don’t see the answer you would like in the options, it is often a sign that you are off track and need to return to the question for a close read.
I hope this is helpful, please reach out with other questions!
