Power electronic converters are used to nullify the input fluctuations from a solar photovoltaic unit due to intermittent solar irradiance and to make the terminal voltage grid compatible with desired frequency. The conventional two-level converters suffer from low power quality and high voltage stress. In this paper, a new multilevel inverter topology called Dual Source Multilevel Inverter (DS-MLI) with fewer power switches is proposed for solar PV power conversion systems. It is capable of operating in symmetric and asymmetric operating modes without the need for cascading. This reduces the switching components required to produce a given number of levels in the staircase voltage waveform. A closed-loop control algorithm is designed using the state-space averaging technique, and the dynamic behavior of the system under step change is assessed. The simulation is carried out in MATLAB environment. The experimental prototype of DS-MLI rated 1 kW is fabricated using FGA25N120-ANTD IGBTs, and an eco-sense made solar PV emulator is used for analyzing the performance of DS-MLI while interfacing with solar PV unit. The suggested scheme is compared with its conventional counterpart in the aspects of components required, cost and efficiency and the results are presented INDEX TERMS DS-MLI, Multilevel inverter, Solar PV, Power Conversion, Fundamental frequency switching.