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A solar cell takes far more energy (likely coal or oil) to produce than the panel will ever, EVER, get back in its usable life.

Wrong, a solar cell will produce 6x as much energy over it's life as it took to produce. That factor is continuing to increase. It's not as good as most other electric power sources, but it edges out nuclear's 5x. http://www.carbonbrief.org/blog/2013/03/energy-return-on-investment-which-fuels-win

Except that's not what an inspector general does. They are responsible for investigating misconduct in a government agency (in this case, the Department of the Interior).

And that's where the problem lies. if you read the transcript, Monnett worked for the Minerals Management Service (MMS). Yes, that MMS.

So, when a government agency is working in the interests of the citizens of the United States, then yes, the inspector general preforms a valuable function. When the agency is in bed with the industry it is supposed to be regulating, then the office of the inspector general becomes a tool to stifle people who oppose the pro-industry narrative. Look at this case. If you read the transcript, the issue is that someone who can't do math reported Monnet to the OIG for scientific misconduct. Rather than checking the peer-review process or consulting with an expert, the investigators repeated the same flawed math and suspended him. You want to talk about "embedded biases"? Take a look at the OIG.