The building integrated grid connected PV (BIGCP) is one of the most promising types of urban distributed renewable energy sources. Many researchers found high BIGCP potential in many cities. But this paper emphasized that two important facts are usually ignored. These facts will probably limit the willingness to invest (WTI) in BIGCPs. This problem is referred as an Available Investment Area for BIGCP Installation (AIABI) problem. This paper worked out a way to estimate the restriction brought by the AIABI problem in a certain urban district by applying high definition remote sensing images and signal processing methods. A cased study is carried out in Beijing city, the result shows that there exists a least-acceptable-SPBP range in which a large proportion of the total AIABIs will not be invested in the case. This result explained the low adoption rate of BIGCP in residential buildings in urban discovered by literature. It can be concluded that the AIABI problem in urban districts can restrict the grid connected BIPV potential even under most favorable financial incentives. A strategy to lower the AIABI Elimination Rate is introduced. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.