This paper proposes a modified cascaded neutral-point-clamped grid-connected inverter (MCNPC-GCI) to achieve a wide operational range and high European efficiency in the photovoltaic generation system. Two bidirectional thyristors are added into the standard single-phase cascaded neutral-point-clamped (NPC) inverter to, respectively, connect the positive and negative poles of the two NPC inverters to achieve the transformation between the cascaded NPC inverter and the equivalent single NPC inverter. The losses and grid current total harmonics distortions of the two topology modes are derived to determine their optimal operational ranges and an approach of online smoothly switching the two topology modes is proposed. Detailed experimental results of the proposed MCNPC-GCI are shown to verify its accuracy and feasibility.