While going green is sometimes seen as an economic inconvenience, many companies are thriving and making hefty profits while helping the environment. Each year Inc. magazine names the Green 50—a group of entrepreneurial companies that have committed to green initiatives and environmental sustainability.

Five of the 50 companies named on the 2006 list are based in New York. One company, Verdant Power, was in the news this week because of the underwater turbines they installed to convert currents in the East River to household electricity last December. The New York Times reported that after preliminary maintenance, the company has great expectations for the new technology that allows Verdant to foresee exactly when the turbines will generate power by monitoring current activity.

Another New York company on Inc.’s list, Voltaic Systems, has transformed environmentalism into a fashion accessory with the creation of solar powered backpacks made from recycled plastic products that are capable of charging electronics on the go.

Josh Dorfman, author of The Lazy Environmentalist and producer of a nationally broadcast radio show of the same name, also made the list with his Brooklyn-based company, Vivavi, which offers modern, eco-friendly home furnishings and a way for consumers to use the web to find green homes to rent or buy. Other New York area Green 50 companies are IceStone building products and Green Order sustainability consulting.

Just how much impact can one green idea have? CNN reported financial group Credit Suisse’s cooling system that uses blocks of ice to channel cool air throughout their Manhattan office building reduces greenhouse gases equivalent to “taking 223 cars off the streets and planting 1.9 million acres of trees.”

These companies demonstrate business savvy can turn green ideas into greenbacks. To help translate ideas from the laboratory to the marketplace, the New York Science Alliance is hosting a 12 week Technology Venture Course at the New York Academy of Sciences beginning September 4.

More advice for aspiring tech entrepreneurs is on offer at Financial Research Associates’ Green Building & Technology- Finance, Construction and Investment summit on September 24-25.

To learn more about Trey Taylor, the president and co-founder of Verdant Power visit the archives of the New York Academy of Sciences Magazine. To sign up for the Technology Venture Course visit Science & the City.

*Image above of Vivavi’s tonecoon chair