The smell of blood is in the water.

(The Hill) — As California solar panel maker Solyndra teetered on the brink of financial collapse, Obama administration officials weighed and rejected a last-ditch plan to keep the company afloat.

Under the August plan, which was outlined in nearly 1,200 pages of documents the Obama administration released Wednesday evening, private investors would have put about $100 million into Solyndra, the company that received a $535 million loan guarantee in 2009.

Meanwhile, the Energy Department would have agreed to convert some of Solyndra’s debt to the federal government into a partial stake in the company. The agreement would have also authorized the Energy Department to appoint two independent directors to Solyndra’s board.

But the Obama administration ultimately rejected the plan presented by the financial advisory company Lazard, which the Energy Department had hired to review Solyndra’s options.

Solyndra ceased operations in late August and filed for bankruptcy in early September after laying off 1,100 workers. The company’s collapse has set off a firestorm in Washington, with Republicans raising questions about the Obama administration’s investments in green technology.